Harry Potter and the Unlocked Mind
by Sorcerer's Muse
Summary: The seventh year sequel to my story, Harry Potter and the Blood Traitor. Again, this is an older work being reposted from my old site. Enjoy, please review and be kind.
1. Chapter 1

Please note the world of Harry Potter belongs to JKR. I'm only playing with her creation. Also the story image was a free download I found. Thank you to whomever it belongs. I will remove it immediately if asked.

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Author's note:

As with, A Promise Kept and Harry Potter and the Blood Traitor, this is an older work that I am posting to help tide people over till my new works are ready. If I were to write this now, I would hit it with a pretty heavy editing hand. But I'm not writing it now and will be leaving it as is. Still, while it won't help this story, your comments will help my future work. So I will say it again, reviews are how you pay fanfic authors. I thereby challenge anyone who reads, like it or loath it to leave a review. I will do my best to respond to all signed reviews.

Also, I'm perfectly aware that with the title of the story and a quick google search you can find the whole thing. Certainly I can't stop you from doing so. Just know that I while I have not taken my works down from the old site, I no longer check anything there. If you want an answer to a question, you're going to have to contact me here.

Hope you like it.

Authors' note#2:

I suppose I should have expected this as my old work is going up. It was a very different life and more than five years since I said I was done with fan fiction. Now I'm back writing again. I'm on a new site with a new penname. A simple google search of the titles of my old work will direct you to mugglenet and the penname of huskers. So, I might as well say that yes, I use to post on mugglenet under the penname of huskers. Please read the bio there that directs you to find any new work as well as my old work here under the new penname of Sorcerer's Muse. Yes, I am one in the same. If you have any doubts that I am the same person and that all the work posted here is indeed mine, please go to mugglenet. Look up huskers' page and send an email with an appropriate code word of your choosing. I will then post that code word on my profile here to prove that I am the same person. **Note, I will not post anything vulgar or inappropriate.**

As always, thank you for reading my work.

Sorcerer's Muse

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**Harry Potter and the Unlocked Mind**

**Chapter 1: Ambush**

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"Oy, watch it, Alicia."

"Sorry, George, I can barely tell you two apart in the light much less the dark."

"Don't be getting to friendly with my boyfriend there, Alicia," Angelina grumpily remarked, from the other side of the closet.

"You're the one who came in here first, Angelina. How did you end up in the wrong corner with Fred?" Alicia snapped back at her.

"Here, George, give me back my girl," Fred Weasley hissed, shoving Angelina towards his twin.

"Quiet all of you," George snarled as he pulled Angelina to him. _"I solemly swear that I am up to no good!"_he muttered, waving his wand over the Marauders Map. "Good thing you two finally found this in Ginny's and Harry's new bedroom," he remarked to the girls.

"I can't believe she has been stealing potions ingredients from Snape all year," Fred put in, with more than a trace of admiration for his baby sister in his voice.

"I can't believe that her and Harry are getting married tomorrow, along with your youngest brother and Hermione," Angelina whispered quietly.

"Do you remember the first time he caught the Snitch?" she asked a moment later

"Practically swallowed it," Alicia replied. They all shook their heads remembering back to that first match with Harry as the Gryffindor Seeker.

"He was so little," Angelina remarked.

"They all were," Alicia added. "Now look at the four of them. Getting married before they leave school, three of them tasked with defeating Voldemort." Alicia shook her head.

"Wonder when we're going to find out who the third friend that will help Harry is?" George asked after a few minutes..

"I think that Harry, Ron and Hermione already know," Fred replied. "I think it's Ginny, but they are not telling anyone because it might be too dangerous."

"Kind of like Harry not telling us everything about the first prophecy you mean?" George asked, comprehension dawning on him.

"Yeah, I think Fred is right," Angelina whispered into the dark after another minute or two of silence.

"You two are sure about Neville getting their wands switched out for those fake ones aren't you?" Alicia asked nervously.

"We better hope so," George replied. "Because if not, we're all going to be very sorry when we jump them."

"Oy," Fred replied quietly. The four of them fell silent again as they contemplated the wisdom of this little venture.

Fred and George had taken it upon themselves to plan a bachelor party for Ron. Harry had been too busy with teaching the DA and then the funk he went into when Ginny had been hurt during the Quidditch match with Ravenclaw. They had planned to tell him about it, but just let it slip instead.

The announcement that Ginny and Harry were getting married in less than a week had been one of the few times in the twins' lives that they were both left speechless. George had been leaning back in his chair when his mother told him and had fallen right out of it, as if he had been hit by a stunning spell.

Fred had shot firewhiskey out his nose, which if you have ever done with Muggle soda pop you can imagine the discomfort it causes, only this is about a hundred times worse. Not for a few minutes, but for a whole day whenever they looked at each other, all they could do was shake their heads.

Other than Dumbledore, who had always known the whole prophecy, and had been expecting it. Only a few people, namely Molly and Arthur Weasley, had begun to suspect that Harry and Ginny's feelings for each other went much deeper than the brother/sister relationship they had been displaying for the world to see. Even Remus Lupin, who claimed to have suspected something as far back as October, agreed that neither of them had expressed their true feelings to themselves, much less each other, until Harry's last night in the hospital.

It was Alicia and Angelina who decided that the party was going to change after the announcement. It was going to be a Ball and Chain,party now, with all four guests of honor suffering the humiliation that only very good friends and family are allowed to dish out. The Room of Requirement made things very easy as far as decorating and providing food and drinks, though Fred and George had taken it upon themselves to liven up the punch a bit.

Fred jumped; as someone knocked on the door to the closet three times, paused, and then once more rapped the door.

"Oy, that's the signal from Neville that he got their wands," he whispered.

"Let's just hope none of them are up to wandless magic tonight," George remarked dryly, as he watched the little symbol of Neville walk away from their hiding spot, heading to the Room of Requirement.

"Do you see them moving yet?" Alicia asked. George studied the map for a minute.

"Yeah, it looks like they just got up from the table. Wands ready," he ordered quietly. The four of them tensed as they waited for Ron, Hermione, Harry, and Ginny to reach the closet.

"Now!" George hissed throwing the door open. The four of them burst out of the closet hurling binding spells at the two couples. Their victims had their wands out instantly.

_"Protego!"_they screamed together.

_"Silencio!"_Fred, George, Alicia, and Angelina cried out.

"Nice chicken, Harry," George cackled, at what had been the wand in Harry's hand.

"Oh Ronald, flowers, for me?" Alicia squealed at him as she walked over to take them from him. She planted a big kiss on his cheek leaving a very red set of lips imprinted on him. "I don't think Hermione is going to like that very much," she teased him. Angelina walked over and took the bouquet of flowers that Ginny was holding and gave her Harry's rubber chicken.

"Harry was supposed to get this one. You really can't get good help these days; remind me not to pay Neville, will you sweetheart," she said to Ginny while planting a big kiss on Harry's cheek, leaving him with a set of pink lips. Harry and Ron both turned crimson, while Hermione and Ginny's eyes went wide in shock, as they watched Angelina and Alicia flirting with their respective fianc s. They were both playing it up rather well, causing both Harry and Ron to shift uncomfortably under the suggestive whisperings occurring in their ears.

"Come now, Ginny, Hermione, you didn't really think we would let these two get away without a party of some kind on their last night of freedom," Fred remarked as he carelessly flicked his wand at the girls, transfiguring both of their shirts.

If Harry could have laughed he would have. Ginny and Hermione were now wearing white t-shirts with the words, THE OLD BALL AND CHAIN, written across the front. Ginny and Hermione, particularly Hermione, he could tell were furious.

"Since you two think it's so funny," George said offhandedly to Harry and Ron.

"I think it is time we established who wears the pants in your houses," Fred finished, waving his wand at Harry and then Ron. Ron's eyes went wide as he felt a cool breeze blowing over his lower legs. Harry felt the same thing happen to him and looked down to see that both he and Ron were now wearing skirts that were cut just above the knee. Harry felt his face flushing in horror, Ron had gone white, but now Hermione and Ginny were the ones who looked like they were about to keel over laughing.

"Oh, I don't know about those, Fred." Angelina remarked eyeing the skirts Ron and Harry were wearing in disapproval.

"I agree, Angelina. I think they are much too long. Don't you, Hermione?" Alicia asked while running her wand about mid way up Ron's thigh. "Maybe about here don't you think?" Ron's eyes opened even wider as he watched the expression on Hermione's face.

"What about you, Ginny, how much leg do you want to see?" Angelina teased into Harry's ear. Harry felt her wand run across his leg considerably higher than where Alicia's had on Ron. Harry joined Ron in struggling fiercely to get loose from the binding spells now. Hermione shook her head no at Alicia. Ron breathed a sigh of relief, only to have Alicia move her wand higher on his leg and see Hermione nod in agreement.

"Just above mid thigh it is, then," Angelina said brightly. Harry felt the skirt shorten on his legs. It was impossible for him to turn any redder than he was. He just thanked Merlin no one else had come out of the great hall yet.

"Nice legs, Potter, Weasley," Alicia chided them as she levitated the four of them and started moving them down the hallway. Alicia marched her four victims into the Room of Requirement to the cheers of the whole of the DA, minus Hagrid who had begged out of the party. She set them down on top of the table in the middle of the room. George released them from the silencing spells a moment later.

"Fred and George Weasley, if you don't get this shirt off of me right now you're going to wish you were wearing those skirts!" Hermione hissed at them the moment she could speak. George looked at Fred, who shrugged his shoulders in reply.

"If you say so, Hermione," George flicked his wand at the still trussed up girl, who realizing what she had just said flushed in horror.

"No, don't you dare!" she shrieked at him. Ron's mouth dropped to the floor as Hermione's shirt was changed into a bikini top. The whole crowd roared in laughter, even Ginny was trying to stifle a grin until she realized that she too was wearing a bikini top. Harry found himself trying to avert his eyes, very unsuccessfully. Ginny caught it in a blink.

"I suppose you like this don't you, Potter," she growled at him. Harry tried to wipe the smile off his face, but failing miserably commented a moment later.

"Well now that you ask, yeah I don't mind."

"Is that a fact?" Ginny replied eyeing him like a lion about to pounce on its next meal. "Alicia, I don't think that skirt is short enough for Harry." Harry blanched as Ginny smiled smugly at him before continuing.

"It's kind of loose too. Maybe you could make it cling to his hips a little tighter. As long as you're at it, why don't you get Ron's also. I think Hermione might like that."

"I like the way she thinks," Alicia said grinning and raised her wand at the two guys again.

"No wait," Ron panicked, "George, put the shirts back on them, plain ones without any words."

"Always a downer that boy," George said shaking his head in disgust before flicking his wand, turning Ginny and Hermione's shirts back into what they had started the evening with.

"Thank you, Ronald," Hermione breathed gratefully.

"You did look good you know," Ron mumbled to her. This comment brought a cheer from the assembled DA. Hermione held Ron's eyes for a moment, then flushing red she looked away from him.

"Is there any chance you're going to give me a pair of pants instead of this skirt?" Ron asked Angelina a moment later.

"Depends," she replied.

"On what?" Harry asked.

"That you four will agree not to break out of the binding spell until we have properly prepared you for your wedding day," George answered. Ron, Harry, Hermione and Ginny regarded the DA warily.

"I don't know, Hermione. I kind of like the legs," Ginny remarked as she licked her lips and eyed Harry again.

"Watch it, Gin, or you'll be back in a bikini top," Harry snapped at her.

"I never said I wanted out of it. That was Ron's idea," Ginny replied grinning at him.

"Ginny Weasley, if your mother…." Hermione started.

"What my mother doesn't know won't hurt her," Ginny interrupted.

"Enough, I don't need to hear this from my baby sister," Fred yelped, waving his wand at Harry and Ron giving them a pair of pants again.

"Fred, I do believe that Ginny is much more trouble than we have ever been," George commented.

"Harry, you have our condolences," Fred remarked. Harry didn't really hear them; he was too busy trying to control his raging hormones under the looks he was getting from Ginny. Ginny blew him a kiss and then turned her attention to Bridgette as she climbed up on the table with Cho close behind her.

"So do you agree to our terms of being properly humiliated?" she asked as the two of them moved in front of Hermione. Hermione sighed in resignation.

"Considering our position at the moment we don't have much choice."

"Good, drink up then," Bridgette said tipping the cup to Hermione's mouth. Hermione, who still had her hands bound, had no choice but to drink or have the punch spilled all over her. The crowd started to cheer as she downed the whole glass. Harry watched as Hermione's eyes opened wide in surprise.

PHHLAAT, Hermione spit the last mouthful out and started coughing in fits.

"What's in that?" she shrieked a moment later.

"Firewhisky," Fred replied jovially from the floor. Ron and Harry's eyes bugged out of their heads again.

"Oh, no you don't," Ron said as he tried to turn away from Cho.

"Drink it or wear it, Ronald," Cho said as she tipped the cup in front of him. Ron drank, again the cheers of the crowd started, chanting his name as he drank the punch down. Ron finished the last swallow, and shook his head once.

"That's not half bad," he said with a grin, kind of warms you up, doesn't it?" Hermione looked at him incredulously. Harry heard all of this, but didn't register it, as his throat was on fire from the concoction pouring down it.

Sputtering and coughing a second latter, he watched in amazement as Ginny drank it down without so much as a blink, licked her lips and asked if they had bothered to spike hers or if they were going easy on her because she was a year younger than the other three.

"Ginny, you have to be the naughtiest girl I have ever met," Hermione said quietly next to her. Five rounds later, Harry had to agree with Hermione. His insides were burning, and his face was flushed. He thought he would have trouble standing if he wasn't being held up with the binding curse, and he wasn't sure if his first name was Harry or Potter anymore.

Ron, he thought, was doing alright; he was mostly just standing there, quietly gazing at Hermione. Hermione looked about the same as Harry felt, but Ginny, other than being really happy seemed totally unaffected. George had even double checked the glasses that she was being forced to drink.

"How can she do that?" Fred asked when George had confirmed that there was indeed firewhisky in her glass. The two of them shrugged their shoulders at each other and regarded their younger sister warily.

"I think it's time for a little truth or dare now," Cho called out, climbing back up on the table. She had four boxes with her and was, Harry thought, slightly fuzzy. There will be two rounds for each of you. You must pick dare and truth one time each just so you know. Dare will be opening the box with you're name on it. Truth will have you answering a question that was determined ahead of time by the group for you. After each turn, which I'm sure will be exhausting and make you very thirsty; Bridgette will have some more punch for you." This last comment brought another cheer form the DA and caused Harry's stomach to lurch.

_We don't want any more punch,_the voices said to him. They sounded kind of funny to Harry, like they were calling to him through a dense fog.

_Quiet, which one do you want to do first, truth or dare?_he asked them.

_Truth, we might still be able to lie coherently if the question is not one we want to answer,_they replied.

"Harry, you're up first," Cho said brightly.

"Truth," Harry replied. If the voices had sounded like they were a long way off, he thought the actual sound of his voice seemed very loud.

"We don't believe that you and Ginny just got together. When did you first declare your love to her?" Harry smiled, that was not such a bad question.

"I realized that Ginny was the one, the night I came up with the _Phoenix charm_. Though I think I had started to figure it out before then. But we're telling the truth about my last night in the hospital. That was the first time either of us said anything."

"I told you that was a wasted question," Bridgette grumped to the group before tipping another glass to Harry's lips. Cho turned to Hermione now.

"Hermione, you're up."

"Truthhh."

"We want to know what physical feature about Ron boils your blood?" Bridgette said loudly

_Whew, glad we didn't get that one,_the voices said to Harry as he watched both Ron and Hermione turn red. Which considering the effect of the firewhisky was saying something. Hermione struggled fiercely, her face contorting with effort as she tried not to answer the question. Finally she could resist no more.

"His chest," she squeaked.

"Let's here it for vertasium," George yelled as the cat calls in the room reverberated in Harry's ears.

"You didn't?" Ron stammered at the twins, as Harry watched Hermione cursing loudly at them. Her words were cut off as Bridgette started pouring another glass of punch down her throat.

"Course we did little bro, why do you think no one else is drinking that stuff," Fred replied.

"Best part is, now you're all too drunk to even think about doing magic without your wands," George added to them.

"Ronald, it's your turn to pick truth or dare," Cho said to him teasingly.

"I'm goin kill two you," Hermione slurred at Fred and George. Ron looked like he was going to try and get out of picking either by not answering at all.

"Go head Ron," Harry stammered at him. "Can be all tha bad." Ron glared at him and then Cho. It didn't look like they were going to get anywhere until Bridgette stepped up with her face right in front of him.

"You could always get out of it by kissing me again," she called out loudly. Ron blanched and quickly blurted out his choice.

"Dare."

"Wise choice, Ronald," Hermione grumbled. "For both of you," she added a second later.

"Oh boy, we have a winner," Cho said as she picked up a box from the pile. She unwrapped it making a big show out of pulling a pair of silk boxer underwear from the box they were bright red with the words, **Property of Hermione Granger "Weasley**," inked on the back of them. Cho held them up in front of Ron and the crowd howled.

"Here, Hermione," she said with a flick of her wrist and Ron's shirt was gone. "Give you a better idea of what they will look like." Ron was absolutely purple as people fell over each other laughing at his and Hermione's reaction. Harry and Ginny were laughing now also, it was really too funny not to especially when they were quite drunk. Bridgette poured another glass of firewhisky punch down Ron's throat and gave him back his shirt. Harry felt himself cringe as Cho turned to Ginny for the first time.

"I guess that leaves you to make your first choice, Ginny."

"Dare," Ginny replied without hesitating. It looked like she might finally be starting to feel the effects of the punch now as her face was flushed a warm pink that had Harry longing to be alone with her.

Cho made another great show of unwrapping Ginny's package. Pulling out a very short night gown that was definitely not going to hide much of anything, she held it up to Ginny, who while blushing furiously stared directly at Harry.

**_"Like it?"_**Harry heard her voice in his head.

**_"Ginny?"_**Harry asked in shock sending a thought back to her.

_**"I think I'm drunk, Potter."**_

_**"Me too, Gin,"**_ Harry replied. _**"Yeah, Gin, I like it,"**_he added silently to her a moment later, as he watched Bridgette give Ginny another glass of punch.

"I guess that leaves us with a dare for you then doesn't it, Harry," Cho said as she began to unwrap his package. Harry cringed as a second pair of red silk boxer shorts were held up in front of him the word, **Tasty**, written across the front.

"Guess we better give Ginny a good look too," Bridgette yelled loudly and with a flick of her wrist, Harry was missing his shirt. She then poured another glass of punch into his mouth, but went a little fast, causing it to pour down his chin onto his chest and stomach. "Oops, maybe we can get Ginny to clean that up for us," she teased.

"Or maybe we should get it for her," Cho remarked as she toweled off Harry's chest. "Ginny looks like she might not be able to control herself if she gets to close to Harry right now." Harry couldn't help laughing. He was already as red in the face as he could get and the look Ginny was giving Cho and Bridgette as they cleaned up the mess they had made of him was too much for him.

"Yuck it up, Potter," Ginny said glaring at him before breaking into a naughty smile. "Make sure you leave some of that for me you two," she shot at Cho and Bridgette.

"Oh, I think there is plenty of man for you to share, Ginny," Bridgette teased her. She and Cho moved to either side of Harry leaning in close to his ears and blowing on them. They each slid a hand up into his hair messing it up even more than it already was while they played the fingers of their other hand across his stomach and chest. Ginny's mouth dropped open and then closed quickly as she recovered from their attempts to make her jealous. Harry, starting to feel very uncomfortable with the attentions of two of the four girls he had kissed in his life tried to direct their attention elsewhere.

"Isn time for to pick on Mione now?" he slurred hurriedly at them. They both sighed and tossed a last look at Ginny. She just laughed at them.

"Oh I suppose." Cho smiled at him before turning to Hermione. She was really getting good at making a show of opening the packages, either that or Harry was really getting to be way beyond drunk now. He tried to avoid looking at Hermione, not wanting in his inebriated state to have a picture form in his mind of what she might look like in whatever Cho pulled out of the box. Instead he focused on Ron, and judging by his reaction and the renewed cat calls from the DA he was glad not to see what came out of the box.

"Oh and look what else we have here." Cho said brightly. Harry couldn't help looking at her. She was holding up a book, Harry tried to focus on the title but his head was swimming too much to do it.

"Now, Hermione, we all know how terrible with women Ron really is, and we thought about getting this for him. But none of us were sure he knew how to read, and we also know that you already do all his reading for him and then tutor him. We figured this shouldn't be any different. So, we have a copy of, Dr. Ruth's Guide to Pleasing Your Spouse, for you." Harry roared with laughter as he watched Hermione standing there with her eyes closed muttering under her breath.

"Think that's funny do you, Potter?" He shut his mouth quickly when Bridgette spoke up.

_Uh-oh,_the voices said to him. She laughed as she pulled another copy of the book out of a bag and gave it to Ginny.

"Here you go, Ginny. Harry is not much better than Ron and this is one time we thought it best if Hermione were not giving private lessons to both of them."

"Here you go, Hermione," Cho said as she brought up another glass of punch for her. Hermione turned white shaking her head at her.

"No more please, Cho," she pleaded with her.

"Oh yes, if I had to drink it so do you, Hermione," Harry shouted at her. As the pace at which they were be forced to drink had slowed, he found himself feeling a little less queasy now. Hermione shot him a look but started drinking as she was about to wear the glass of punch.

"Ronald, we want to know what feature of Hermione's is your favorite," Cho said turning to him. Ron smiled.

"I have to pick just one?" he asked.

"No, you can give us more if you want," Bridgette replied. Harry watched as Ron locked his eyes with Hermione's and spoke directly to her as if no one else was in the room.

"I love the way she forces me to study, that she is smarter than I am. I love her curly brown hair and the smile that only I get. I love that she demands I be better than I am. I still can't believe that she loves me, when she could have anyone she wanted to." Harry saw the light begin to dance in Hermione's eyes and then he saw the smile that Ron was talking about. He recognized it because Ginny had shown it to him quite a few times over the last week.

"When did he become such an eloquent git?" Fred asked his twin.

"Right about the time Hermione got a hold of him," George replied in disgust. Ron's words seemed to have sobered Hermione some because she was able to get her next sentence out without slurring her words.

"Is there any chance you will let me out of this binding spell now?" she asked, as Ron was forced to down his last glass of punch. Fred waved his wand at her, and Hermione walked unsteadily across the table to Ron. She wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered into his ear.

"What you fail to see, Ronald is that you could have anyone you wanted and I still can't believe you picked me." She then kissed him deeply before settling down on the table in front of him. People watched her display in surprise. Ron and Hermione were both very reserved in front of other people with their feelings for each other. They might hold hands or be caught staring at each other, but they very rarely displayed more than that in front of even their closest friends, much less this large of a group of people.

"That's the first time I think I've seen them really kiss," Cho remarked quietly before turning to Ginny.

"Ginny, we would like to know, well mostly Bridgette and I, because we only saw the potential. Just how good of a kisser is Harry?"

_Oh bugger,_the voices in Harry's head remarked as he saw a smile come over Ginny's face.

"If you let us out of these binding spell, I'll show you, and you can judge for yourself if he is any good." Harry felt his face heating again and his pulse quickened as Bridgette smiled smuggly at him. She flicked her wand at Harry and Ginny.

Ginny walked quickly across the table to him, her hand came to the back of his neck and pulled his mouth to hers. Ginny's tongue played across his lips parting them as she searched for his response. A moment latter when Harry allowed her entrance his knees nearly buckled at the heat coming from her. He was vaguely aware of the cat calls starting up, led of all people by Hermione.

Harry struggled to keep some sense of control over the situation, as he was well aware of the fact that he was being snogged senseless by Ginny while three of her brothers looked on with their jaws on the floor. Finally, Ginny broke away from him.

"Very nice, Potter," she whispered quietly while gazing into his eyes. Harry was lost until Bridgette and Cho smacked him in the arm.

"What's the matter there lover boy," Cho teased him

"Really, Harry, you'd think she was a goddess or something," Bridgette added laughing at him.

"Oy, get your hands of my sister," Fred said punching his arm.

"Blimey, Harry, at least wait until you're married before subjecting us to that," George added giving him a shove from the other side.

"You're the ones who got us drunk, gave us vertasium and then asked me how good of a kisser he was," Ginny said biting at Harry's lip again as she pressed herself into him.

"Oy, knock it off," Fred yelped.

"We got out voted on that question," George replied.

"Yeah, we wanted to ask you something a little less….eye opening," Fred added with a grin at Ginny when she finally turned her attention away from trying to kiss Harry to her brothers.

"This was much more fun," Ginny replied.

"Quiet, I don't want to hear it," George snapped.

"Hey is there any chance of me getting out of this binding spell?" Ron asked, breaking into the discussion. Bridgette waved her wand at Ron, who immediately sat down on the table next to Hermione.

"Hi, Love," she said, smiling brightly at him. "Why are there three of you, Ronald?"

"Whoo boy is she sloshed," George remarked.

"Well get her some more," Fred said grinning at his twin. Hermione turned white again.

"Sorry, Hermione, but you can drink or go back in the binding curse," Alicia said handing her a glass and then giving one to Ron, Ginny and Harry. Hermione looked at the glass considering for a moment or two and then downed it in one gulp. The three of them followed her lead.

"Such good sports, I think they deserve a reward," Angelina called out. "Neville, Luna, you want to bring forward our last gifts for the night?" Neville and Luna carried two, rather large, fairly flat packages forward.

"Ok you four. Stand up again," Hermione and Ginny both glared at George. "Or maybe just sit there, where everyone can see you." He changed his mind. "Everyone gather round," he called to the group. The DA moved in close to the two young couples. Neville handed one package to Hermione, and Luna handed the other to Ginny.

"We've picked on you all night now, and I guess it's about time we gave you something serious," Neville said to them.

"We all wanted to say how right we think you are for each other. And to let you four know how much we appreciate what you have done for us functioning as our teachers over the last two years," Luna added, her normal dreamy tone gone, replaced with one of deep admiration and respect.

"We hope that these tokens of our gratitude will remind you of our love for you when you have lost your youth and are preparing for what Professor Dumbledore calls the next great adventure," Bridgette added

"If ever there was one soul living in four people. You are the ones it exists in," Cho finished the speech for the group.

"Go ahead and open them," Fred urged. Ginny and Hermione pulled the wrappings off the packages. They were identical pictures of all the DA members from that year. The frames were inscribed.

**HERMIONE GRANGER (WEASLEY) OUR HEART AND CONSCIENCE  
GINEVRA (GINNY) WEASLEY (POTTER) OUR HEART AND FIRE  
RONALD WEASLEY OUR HEART AND GENERAL  
HARRY POTTER OUR HEART AND SWORD  
MAY WE BE YOUR ARMOR AS YOU LEAD US TO VICTORY  
AND MAY YOU KNOW PEACE AFTER THE BATTLE IS WON  
DUMBLEDORE'S ARMY  
HOGWARTS 1997**

Harry didn't know what to say as he looked at Ron and Hermione and then Ginny. Both girls had tears in their eyes, and his own were stinging with more wetness than normal. Even Ron seemed to be deeply effected, with his eyes shining quite brightly.

"You and Ginny sent us scrambling when Mum told us," Fred said quietly from behind them.

"Alicia and Angelina decided we needed to change the party to include all four of you," George added.

"Bridgette decided we needed one serious gift for each couple," Cho said quietly. "She was the one who got the picture from Colin and had the inscription put on the frames."  
The four of them sat there looking at the pictures and this group of friends, who were more of an extended family for quite some time.

"How did you know I was the third friend, Bridgette?" Ginny asked softly.

"It was a guess. But really who else could it have been? Even if you and Harry didn't fall in love, you're the only one who can reach into him and make him respond, Ginny. You did it to me, you do it to all of us." Ginny climbed down off the table and stood up a little unsteadily.

"Careful there, Gin." Bridgette said as she helped her catch her balance.

"You're right, Bridgette, I am the third friend," Ginny said to her as she hugged her. Harry joined them a second later followed by Ron and Hermione.

"Thank you, all of you," Harry said loudly for everyone to hear as he broke out of the embrace.

"Yes, thank you doesn't begin to say what we feel right now," Hermione added, swiping at the tears on her cheeks.

"Oy, come on this is a party now," Fred started in

"Yeah enough of the sappy stuff, someone get the other punch out, the stuff without vertasium in it," George added.

"Definitely, the guests of honor are starting to sober up. We can't have that, now can we?" Fred kept going. Harry heard the Wizard Wireless Network start up and a fast song start playing. Ginny grabbed Ron by the hand and pulled him up on the table.

"Come on, Ron. Dance with your sister."

"Hey what about me?" Harry called to her.

"I have to dance with you the rest of my life, Potter. Dance with Hermione," Ginny teased him.

"Yes, Potter," Hermione said grabbing him around the neck. "It is your job as best man to dance with the bride." Harry grinned at her, and with that the party was in full swing.


	2. Chapter 2: Weddings

Please note the world of Harry Potter belongs to JKR. I'm only playing with her creation. Also the story image was a free download I found. Thank you to whomever it belongs. I will remove it immediately if asked.

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Author's note:

As with, A Promise Kept and Harry Potter and the Blood Traitor, this is an older work that I am posting to help tide people over till my new works are ready. If I were to write this now, I would hit it with a pretty heavy editing hand. But I'm not writing it now and will be leaving it as is. Still, while it won't help this story, your comments will help my future work. So I will say it again, reviews are how you pay fanfic authors. I thereby challenge anyone who reads, like it or loath it to leave a review. I will do my best to respond to all signed reviews.

Also, I'm perfectly aware that with the title of the story and a quick google search you can find the whole thing. Certainly I can't stop you from doing so. Just know that I while I have not taken my works down from the old site, I no longer check anything there. If you want an answer to a question, you're going to have to contact me here.

Hope you like it.

Authors' note#2:

I suppose I should have expected this as my old work is going up. It was a very different life and more than five years since I said I was done with fan fiction. Now I'm back writing again. I'm on a new site with a new penname. A simple google search of the titles of my old work will direct you to mugglenet and the penname of huskers. So, I might as well say that yes, I use to post on mugglenet under the penname of huskers. Please read the bio there that directs you to find any new work as well as my old work here under the new penname of Sorcerer's Muse. Yes, I am one in the same. If you have any doubts that I am the same person and that all the work posted here is indeed mine, please go to mugglenet. Look up huskers' page and send an email with an appropriate code word of your choosing. I will then post that code word on my profile here to prove that I am the same person. **Note, I will not post anything vulgar or inappropriate.**

As always, thank you for reading my work.

Sorcerer's Muse

* * *

**Weddings**

* * *

Ron opened his eyes the morning of his and Harry's wedding day and immediately closed them again. The room was spinning in circles, and the wind blowing by the open window seemed to be howling like a tornado.

"Harry you awake?" he asked and instantly regretted it, the noise of his own voice thundering in his head.

"No, Ron, I'm dead now shut it," Harry replied barely above a whisper. "My head is killing me," he added a moment later.

"Does the room spin when you open your eyes?" Ron asked after a minute.

"Quit yelling," Harry hissed at him.

"You quit yelling," Ron replied angrily.

"I'm going to kill your brothers," Harry whispered after a short pause.

Ron sat up very slowly on the edge of his bed. Holding his head in his hands, he groaned at the change in position. "Let's start with Neville. He's the one who stole our wands," he said.

"Where do you suppose he hid them?" Harry asked as he crawled across the floor and began to search through the pile of dirty clothes at the foot of Neville's bed. Ron joined him after a few seconds.

"Here they are," Harry said as he reached into a pocket on Neville's robes and felt the familiar warmth of his wand in his hand he pulled it out along with three others that were cold to him. Just the feel of his wand had caused the pain in his head to subside enough that the room wasn't spinning on him anymore. Harry handed Ron his and Hermione's wand, putting Ginny's in his own pocket.

"Wow that feels a little better," Ron whispered quietly, while staggering to his feet. He held his hand out to Harry to help him up.

"What should we do with him?" Harry asked. Ron thought about it Harry was sure smoke was going to start pouring out of Ron's ears any second now.

"Let's levitate his bed into the showers and turn the cold water on him," Ron suggested. Harry considered the thought.

"He is going to scream bloody murder."

"Right, my head can't take that. Let's just levitate the water over his head from the pitcher like you did to me last summer. We can go down in the flat before letting it drop."

"Ok, but I need to shower, and brush my teeth. My mouth tastes like a Bertie Bott's dirty sock flavored bean," Harry replied. "Might as well get Seamus and Dean while we're at it," he added a moment later after observing their still slumbering forms on their beds.

Harry quietly closed the door to his and Ron's dormitory room. He and Ron headed down the stairs to the common room.

"Now?" Ron asked as they closed the door behind them upon entering their new flat.

"What a second," Harry replied. He then waved his wand in the direction of the dorm room. "Ok." He nodded at Ron.

"What did you do?"

"Chilling charm on the water," Harry replied. Ron grinned and cut the connection to the spell, a second later they heard the distant screams of their dorm mates as the water crashed down on them. Harry smiled at Ron, and held his hand out to him.

"That's three down and a whole bunch left." Ron smiled again and shook Harry's hand.

"It's a deal," he replied. "Where do you suppose the girls are?"

"Well, considering the state Ginny was in at the end of the night, I hope Hermione sat with her….They are going to be a mess," Harry replied, feeling worried. He did not want either of them to feel like they were not up to where they wanted to be today. They checked Harry and Ginny's room first, and then not finding the girls they looked in Ron and Hermione's. Both girls were still out cold on the bed.

"They really don't have to get up for a few hours yet. Why don't I move Ginny out here on the couch with me? That will let Hermione get a few hours of real sleep," Harry suggested.

"Sounds good to me, Mate," Ron agreed. Harry walked over to the bed, bent down and slid his arms under Ginny. Ginny stirred enough as he lifted her off the bed to wrap her arms around his neck and settle her head on his chest.

"Morning, Potter," she whispered as Harry carried her over to the couch and sat down with her in his lap.

"Go back to sleep, Gin," Harry replied quietly. "You don't have to get up for awhile yet." Ginny settled into him, her sigh of contentment melted into Harry. Ron watched Harry and Ginny for a minute shaking his head at the sight.

"You know, Harry. I always wanted her to pick you. I had given up hope that it would happen." Harry was surprised.

"Why me Ron? You hated all of her boyfriends. I thought you would kill me when you found out."

"Because Harry, you will never truly hurt her. You might have fights and get mad at each other. But you will never leave her before you die. I didn't trust anyone else to do that. That's why I never liked any of the guys she dated."

"Thanks, Ron," Harry replied, smiling at his best mate.

"I'm going to go watch my future wife sleep for a while, Harry. I'll see you in a bit."

"Alright, Ron, see you in a bit." Harry looked down at Ginny lying peacefully in his arms. He brushed the strand of hair back from her face that had always fallen when she was in the hospital wing.

Harry thought back to the day he saw her reflection in the Mirror of Erised, how shocked he had been to see her there. He had instantly known it was true, and while he stood there, he realized he had known for awhile.

He had stopped calling her little sister without realizing, sometime before then because he had stopped thinking of her that way. Even so, he had been terrified. Hermione, while he had loved her, he realized he never had a chance with. That unconscious knowledge had allowed him to pursue her.  
Bridgette, he had been unable to deny because he couldn't deny the truth that he cared for her. She had asked for a chance, and even though he was unsure if it would amount to much, he couldn't lie to her and tell her he didn't think it was possible at the time. If she had been right for him, he would have stayed with her.

Harry now understood that he was not capable of flat out lying, even if it protected someone. If it had been Ginny who stood in front of him at the lake that January day, he would have caved into her then. What he was capable of was not bringing up the subject himself, so like the voices told him that night in front of the mirror, he buried it. Deeper than anything he had ever felt for Hermione.

He had hoped Ginny wouldn't notice the change, that even if she did she would say nothing. He had hoped the crush was gone, that she had stopped calling him Big Brother was just coincidence. He now knew he should have known better. When she had sat on his bed that night in the hospital, less than a week ago and demanded an answer from him. She had made it impossible for him to tell her no.

The one person, who truly knew what Voldemort could do to her, loved him so much that she was willing to risk that pain again to hold him. He caved to the truth, and now prayed that he could show her the same love and devotion, because if he had to look in her eyes and know that he had failed her, Harry knew his heart would stop beating that very moment. Harry was brought out of his thoughts by Ginny beginning to stir in his lap.

"Hello, Potter," she whispered snuggling into him tighter.

"Morning, Gin, are you feeling ok?"

"My head is killing me."

"Here take this," Harry said giving her, her wand.

"That feels good," Ginny murmured into his neck as her hand closed on the wand.

"Harry do you remember the morning after you created the _Phoenix charm_….When you said it doesn't hurt you to sit with me at night like it does Ron and Hermione?"

"Yeah, Gin, I do."

"Did you really mean that? Or were you trying to make me feel better?"

"I meant it, Gin. It doesn't affect me. I sleep better next to you than I do alone." Ginny smiled at him while brushing the side of his face with her hand.

"Harry, I dream when I sleep next to you. Not the bad dreams, normal dreams, happy ones, sad ones, everything in between. I don't have any dreams when Ron or Hermione sit with me." Harry lifted Ginny's chin with his hand.

"I'm glad, Ginevra Weasley," he said kissing her forehead.

"Do you love me, Potter?"

"Yes, Gin, I love you."

"Harry, do you believe the prophecy is real, that we will spend eternity together?"

"Yes, Gin, I do."

"That's good, Potter, because if you try to get out of it you will be very sorry." Harry laughed at her. "Not so loud, Potter," Ginny said wincing at the noise.

"Here, Gin, let me try something. Sit down on the floor between my legs." Ginny looked at him.

"But I like it here," she pouted.

"Trust me; I think you will like this too." Ginny sighed and moved to the floor.

"There, now lean your head back on this pillow."

"Potter, that is divine," Ginny moaned a few minutes later as Harry's fingers massaged her head, neck and shoulders.

"It works?" Harry asked quietly.

"Oh yes," Ginny whispered in reply. Harry continued to massage her head in silence until Ron and Hermione came out of the bedroom quite awhile later.

"That looks nice," Hermione commented.

"Get your own, Hermione, this one is mine," Ginny sighed contentedly. Harry laughed quietly at her again. Hermione looked at her a moment then turned to Ron.

"Sit down, Ronald," she said as she sat on the floor next to Ginny.

"Your wish is my command," Ron mocked her and then started to rub her head for her.

"Mmmmm, that is nice. Who came up with this?"

"Harry did," Ginny replied. They both sat quietly for a while letting Harry and Ron work on their hangover induced headaches.

"So what are we going to do to get revenge on those git brothers of ours?" Ginny asked.

"We'll," Ron replied, "Harry and I already got Neville back for stealing our wands. We added Seamus and Dean in just for the heck of it. I'm sure we can think of something." They sat quietly together for some time before Harry heard a timid voice behind them.

"Would sirs and their young misses like some breakfast today?"

"Dobby, please come around here so we can see you," Hermione replied quietly to him.

"Dobby, in this house you are equal with the witches and wizards," Ginny said to him, when the elf had moved in front of them. Harry may pay you to serve him but he is not a master to you. Nor are any of the rest of us. You are free to stand in front of us and look us in the eye when you speak to us."

"Dobby understands, Miss Ginny.

"Good," Ginny replied smiling at the elf. Dobby beamed at her and the others in turn.

"Should Dobby get breakfast then?"

"Just toast and juice today, Dobby. It was a rough night," Hermione said to him.

"Dobby?" Harry asked.

"Yes, Harry Potter, sir?"

"Do you know anything that will help with a hangover?" Dobby's eyes grew wide and a huge smile came over his face.

"Dobby knows just the thing, sir."

"We could use four of whatever it is," Harry said to the elf.

"Yes, sir, Harry Potter, sir, Dobby will bring it with your breakfast." And then, before anyone could stop him Dobby raised his hand and snapped his fingers disapparating with an abnormally loud pop.

"Argh, I'm going to kill Bridgette. She was the one pouring that stuff down our throats last night," Ron groaned.

* * *

The great hall had been through an amazing transformation in the hours since last night's leaving feast and the wedding ceremony that was about to take place. Gone were the house banners of Gryffindor and Ravenclaw that had been hung in honor of the houses winning the house cup and quidditch cup respectively for the year.

Now, there were huge white tapestries hanging from the ceiling which in its bewitched state, was blazing with the warm sun and fluffy white clouds that reflected the actual conditions outside the castle. Hundreds of cream and red roses hung in large bouquets around the hall. Large candles sat in the holders all around the hall waiting to light it as day turned to night and the festivities of the day went along.

The two middle of the house tables had been banished from the hall clearing room for a dance floor. The head table, along with the two tables along the outside walls, was set with Hogwarts finest china and crystal glasses. Bowls of punch and platters of hors'douvres waited to be consumed by the guests who were now beginning to arrive and claim their seats.

The wall behind each table had been enchanted with a mural of the Dark Forest. And the different creatures that lived in it moved through the scene. Most notable of animals on the left wall, as you looked to the head table, were the large male lion and female lioness that were chasing each other all through the woods. On the other wall, a huge image of a Hungarian Horntail dragon lounged lazily by the lake, short bursts of flames shooting from its nostrils with each breath. The head of the dragon turned on its long neck allowing emerald green eyes to follow every movement of the blazing red phoenix that floated through the air all around the great beast.

The sound of the phoenix song filled the air of the hall with its enchanting melody. Seemingly drowning out all other sounds and bringing a quiet peaceful calm as the crowd began to swell. The smell of grilled meats, fresh baked bread, and puddings wafted into the hall from the kitchen below, tantalizing the taste buds of the early arrivals with the promise of what was to come.

The guest list for Ron and Hermione's wedding was quite large when all of the people Arthur Weasley worked with at the Ministry had been added to the members of the Order of the Phoenix, various Weasley and Granger family members and the members of the DA. Now, Ron and Harry stood in a room off to the side of the great hall peering through the door way at their swelling ranks; both of them growing more nervous by the moment at the sight of all of the witches and wizards dressed in their finest gowns and robes.

"I had no idea Dad knew this many people," Ron said.

"How come there are so many more than for Charlie's wedding?" Harry asked.

"Well it was Christmas. People probably had other places to be," Ron replied.

"Right, forgot about that," Harry said.

"Consider yourself lucky, Mate."

"What do you mean?"

"Mum said there were dozens of people who said they were not coming. Do you think any of them would have turned down the invitation if they knew Harry Potter was getting married today too?" Harry's face turned white at the thought of what people would do to watch him get married.

"Don't even say it, Harry," Ron said cutting him off before he could open his mouth. "Just promise to love my sister and forget about everyone else out there." Harry grinned at him.

"That, I can do, Ron."

Harry looked into the hall again just in time to see rows of chairs appear on either side of the dance floor leaving an aisle down the middle for the bridal march. The guests, herded along by the Hogwart's house elves, started to move into the chairs as the time for the ceremony grew closer. Watching the crowd carefully, Harry blinked in surprise at the sight of one guest in particular.

"What is she doing here?" he indicated towards Rita Skeeter.

"Ginny invited her," Ron replied.

"What for?" Harry asked gaping at him.

"Think about it, Harry," Ron answered. And then seeing Harry was too shocked to come up with an answer on his own he clued him in.

"It's better to have her on our side than against us. She is the only reporter here. She doesn't know why, but she knows she is being given something no one else is. If she decides to write nasty stuff about you and Ginny, then that access can be taken away and given to some other reporter." Harry grinned at how Ginny had turned a thorn in his side into a puppet that could have its strings cut in an instant.

"What am I getting myself into?" he mumbled under his breath.

"I don't know mate, but better you than me," Ron replied. They both turned as the other door to the room they were in opened.

"Oy, you two, get out there," Fred said to them.

"Honestly, let's get a move on," George added as he and his twin started to push Harry and Ron out the door into the great hall.

"Yes, some of us are looking forward to the party not the vows you know," Fred picked up.

"And the sooner you two are done making Mum bawl her eyes out, the sooner we can get to the fun part of this whole thing," George finished after he and Fred had deposited Harry and Ron at the front of the hall.

The crowd grew quite as Harry and Ron were put into position by the twins. Each of them gave the two grooms a hearty hand shake and clap on the back before moving to their seats. Harry looked around the hall full of guests and his eyes settled nervously on Hermione's mother who was sitting front and center. He gave her a feeble smile.

"Relax," she mouthed at him. Harry nodded at her and then turned to look at Ron.

"You look green."

"I can't remember my vows," Ron hissed at him. Harry felt his stomach heave.

"Now you look green," Ron said to him.

"I forgot mine now," Harry hissed back to him. Dumbledore moved into place in front of them.

"Ronald, Harry. You are ready?"

"Yes sir," they replied together both surprised at the strength in their voices.

"You and Miss Granger will exchange vows first, is that correct?"

"Yes sir," Ron replied. Dumbledore nodded and then he turned his attention to the crowd.

"For those of you who are quick of mind, you may have noticed that there are two grooms here with me. That would of course mean that we have two brides this afternoon also."

The crowd began to whisper excitedly amongst themselves at Professor Dumbledore's words. Many turned in their seats searching for a glimpse of the missing brides. Harry saw Rita Skeeter's eyes grow wide and continued to watch her as Dumbledore finished his announcement.

"Our first couple is of course Hermione Granger, and Ronald Weasley. Our second couple is Ginevra Molly Weasley and Harry James Potter."

Rita's face lit up like a Christmas tree, and her hand dove into her bag for a quill. The excitement of the crowd grew to a near fever pitch as guests craned their necks to get a glimpse of the famous Harry Potter. Harry scowled at the thought that most of these people would not remember that they had come to see Ron and Hermione get married, but would be only too happy to say they were in attendance when Harry Potter, The-Boy-Who-Lived, got married. Ron elbowed him in the side.

"I know what you're thinking and you can just knock it off, Harry," he whispered to him.

"Thanks, Ron," Harry replied gratefully.

"This is your last chance to run you know," Dumbledore said under his breath to them while he waited for the crowd to calm down. Harry and Ron grinned back

"Not a chance sir," they replied together. Dumbledore chuckled at them.

"A wise decision, they would be most displeased with the both of you." Harry gave an involuntary shudder as a few thoughts of what Ginny would do to him if he left her standing at the altar ran through his head. Dumbledore smiled at the two of them again and then seeing that the crowd had settled down some, he motioned for the music to begin. Harry turned to watch as the doors to the hall opened. He saw his bride for the first time and his heart skipped a beat.

Ginny's dress was ivory white and strapless; it clung to her chest and stomach and fell much the same as Hermione's did from the waist down. There were two long red and green ribbons that trailed on each side from her waist down to the floor. Her hair was divided, with part pulled back into a ponytail that fell over the rest which fell freely down her back. The one lock of hair that always fell in her face, now hung delicately along her cheek. The light glinting off of it caused it to change shades continually. Her father taking her arm began to move forward with her towards Harry. As she drew near, she looked up shyly at Harry, who could only stare. Her eyes flashed brilliantly at him, when she realized he was speechless because of her appearance.

Ron's head spun; taking in Hermione in her long white gown with a strap over her left shoulder, clinging tightly around her chest and stomach then falling loosely from the waist down. Her hair spilled around her shoulders in soft ringlet curls, with sprigs of babies breath adding color to her appearance. Her arm hooked with her father's, and he began to slowly walk with her towards Ron.

"Thank you Harry," Ron whispered in awe as he remembered just how Hermione had come to be in the dress she was wearing.

Hermione felt her heart pounding with anticipation as she watched his lips move. She still couldn't believe he had found the courage to tell her he loved her, and now he stood breathless, waiting to exchange wedding vows with her. When Hermione and her father drew even with Ron the procession and music stopped.

"Who gives this woman, Hermione Granger, to be wed this day?" Dumbledore called loudly into the hall.

"Her father does," Mr. Granger replied as he walked forward and shook hands with Ron. He then placed Hermione's hand in Ron's and moved to take a seat next to his wife. Ron and Hermione moved to the side allowing Harry to move into the middle of the Hall. Mr. Weasley stepped forward with Ginny.

"Who gives this woman, Ginevra Weasley to be wed this day?" Dumbledore called into the hall again.

"Her father and her mother do," Mr. Weasley replied beaming at the Muggle tradition he was taking part in. He then stepped forward to hug Harry and placed Ginny's hand in his. Ginny gave Harry's hand a squeeze and then they parted to make room for Ron and Hermione between them.

Ron and Hermione moved into position with Harry on Ron's right, and Ginny on Hermione's left. Hermione handed her flower bouquet to Ginny, and then turned to face Ron. They crossed hands, his left in her left and her right in his right. Bridgette stepped up behind Hermione and arranged the train of her gown so that it spread across the floor in elegant waves. Harry saw her catch Ron's eye and give him a wink for encouragement before moving off to the side again.

"Each of our couples," Dumbledore began, "has chosen to combine traditions between the magic and non-magic world. What you have just witnessed is the non-magic tradition where the father of the bride gives away his daughter to the man who replaces him. It signifies the acceptance of the bride's family of her choice for a mate. We will now perform the Ceremony of Light. This will be followed by an exchange of vows which our couples have elected to write themselves. This is also a non-magic tradition. After the exchange of vows we will perform the Ceremony of the Rings of Smoke. Ronald, Hermione are you ready?"

"Yes sir," they replied together. Dumbledore waved his hand and the ceiling of the great hall changed to pitch black. The few lights in the hall were dimmed so it was almost completely dark in the hall. Harry watched intently as Professor Dumbledore began a series of incantations. As he spoke, a light began to emanate from Ron and Hermione's clasped hands. At first dim, it began to grow filling the hall with a blinding white brilliance. Harry began to squint and finally was forced to close his eyes against the light which grew to a point that he started to see little black spots on the insides of his eyelids before it faded out.

As it faded, Harry opened his eyes and looked over at Ginny.

_**"Wow!"**_he heard her voice in his head.

_**"Yeah…"**_Harry replied.

"Hermione you may say your vows now," Professor Dumbledore said to her, his eyes shining brightly. Hermione looked into Ron's eyes and in a voice that was calm, clear and loud, she began to speak.

"I was so thick.  
It wasn't that you didn't care.  
You fought with me for the same reasons I fought with you.  
I waited for you to say something cursing your weakness  
What was wrong with me? I could have said something too.  
I was weak. I would have accepted what I needed. It would have been enough.  
Amazing the fool you see when you look in the mirror.  
Thank God you were strong. You offered what I needed and wanted. You were always first.  
You took my heart. I have pledged you my life. I give you my soul  
With this ring, I Hermione Granger, take you, Ronald Weasley for my Husband."

"Ronald." Professor Dumbledore said quietly. Ron took a deep breath and began to speak; his voice cracked once and then became firm and loud for all to hear.

"I wake in the morning and she is in my mind.  
I wait in the common room; she left early.  
I go to breakfast; she just left for the library.  
I see her from the hallway at the table.  
Do I have a book? She won't let me stay without one.  
She is looking at me, smiling, my knees feel weak.  
What is this creature that consumes me?  
What could I offer her? It could never be enough.  
I have no choice. I will confess and lay my paltry gift at her feet.  
She finds me, she touches me, she thanks me for what I offer.  
She has a gift for me. Mine does not compare.  
My heart for hers, it is what she wanted, and more than I dreamed.  
Your heart is my strength Hermione, Your breath is my life.  
You have taken my heart and I will give you my soul.  
With this ring, Hermione Granger, I Ronald Weasley take you for my Wife."

Harry, standing behind Ron, could not see his face, but he had a clear view of Hermione, whose eyes were shining brightly with tears of joy that were starting to slip down her cheeks.

_Thank Merlin, she told us no, Ron is the only one for her,_the voices said to him.

_And Ginny is the one for us; we were as blind as Hermione when she looked at us,_Harry replied. Harry looked at Ginny and smiled at her. The smile that came back to him melted his knees. Harry focused back on Ron and Hermione as Professor Dumbledore began the incantations for the Ceremony of the Rings of Smoke.

Harry watched intently again as smoke began to swirl around Ron and Hermione's hands, spinning, swirling, taking shape into a circle becoming perfect and then twisting itself into the eternity symbol. Harry heard Ginny and Hermione gasp as the eternity symbol rotated slowly above Hermione and Ron's clasped hands.

"Well isn't that interesting," Professor Dumbledore remarked quietly to them, as the smoke faded into nothing. He smiled kindly at them. "Shall we see if we can't hitch your friends now?" Ron and Hermione nodded at him and stepped to the side, allowing Ginny and Harry to take their places.

Dumbledore waited a moment while Bridgette stepped in and arranged Ginny's gown for her. She leaned in and whispered something in Ginny's ear that Harry didn't catch, but caused Ginny to grin broadly. She then smiled at Harry before moving to the side again. When she had, Dumbledore spoke to Harry and Ginny.

"Shall we begin?"

"Yes Professor," they replied together, crossing their hands as Ron and Hermione had.

Hermione watched as the incantations for the ceremony of light began, and the light emanating from Harry and Ginny's clasped hands began to grow in intensity.

Harry closed his eyes and the spots began to form on his eyelids again. He didn't think it was any brighter than it had been for Ron and Hermione, just that he was closer. What he had not expected was the feeling of electricity that moved through his body similar to the pain that had surged through him when he and Ginny had performed the Blood Oath earlier that year. It had been more painful when he performed it with her than with Ron or Hermione, this wasn't pain though. He could only describe it as elation. He found that he and Ginny were involuntarily clasping their hands tighter and tighter. He was becoming concerned that he might hurt her before the light and feeling began to diminish.

Ginny thought she was close to screaming from the strength of Harry's grip when the light and sensation finally began to fade replaced by a feeling of intense contentment. She opened her eyes again and stared into the emerald green eyes that she had longed for, for so long. The eyes she had hidden from so well that she had convinced herself she didn't want him anymore, then came that night in front of the Mirror of Erised. She had not seen what Harry did the second time he looked in the mirror that day but she had looked in the mirror herself.

Ginny had seen Harry standing in front of her just like he was right now. She had not needed an explanation of what the mirror did after that. She had desperately fought the truth, thought Harry couldn't possibly feel the same about her. But it had been his voice that brought her back after the accident with Cho. It was him being in danger that had allowed her to wake up and then when she reached him, he was dead. That pain had nearly killed her. Ginny knew the second he woke up that she would tell him and risk the rejection. And now he was hers, he had looked in the mirror and he had seen her.

"Ginny, you and Harry may exchange your vows now." Professor Dumbledore broke into her thoughts. Harry smiled at her and spoke to the crowd.

"It may seem that Ginny and I got here in a hurry. The truth is we have been in love with each other for quite some time. We were just too scared to see it. Our vows are our story, so you can understand how we came here. He turned back to Ginny and nodded to her. She nodded back and took a deep breath befor begining to speak.

"Green eyes, I'm drowning," Ginny stared up into Harry's eyes.

"Red hair, my heart is burning," Harry replied, while pushing the lock of hair back from the side of Ginny's face.

"With blade, blood and oath, our lives given," they both said, as they pressed their hands together where they were scarred from the Blood Oath. Harry then turned his back on Ginny.

"All who are close to me, in danger. I built a wall," he continued.

"Fear of rejection. My love was hidden," Ginny said while turning her back on Harry. Harry then turned around to face Ginny sinking to his knees in front of her.

"On my knees, defeated, your love saved me," he said. Ginny turned around to face Harry again, reaching her hand to his chin and lifting him from his knees with her touch. She stood there a moment looking up at him then dropped her hand from his face and her eyes to the floor.

"Pain of believing you were dead, without having held you, too much to bear. I will stand here until you make me move," she said. Harry's hand reached for her chin, lifting it so their eyes met again.

"You ask me to be strong enough to love you, when you know that I am weak. I could never deny your request. In your heart is my strength. My wall is destroyed. I accept your offer and place my heart at your feet." Ginny's hand came up and reached for Harry's.

"Your heart is all I ever wanted. Your love will be my shelter. I accept what you offer. For without it, I will have never lived. I Ginevra Molly Weasley, offer myself as Wife. To you, Harry James Potter, hold me forever," she replied, while sliding Harry's ring onto his finger.

I Harry James Potter, offer myself as Husband. To you, Ginevra Molly Weasley, hold me forever," Harry answered, while sliding his mother's ring back onto Ginny's finger.

"Green eyes, I'm drowning," Ginny finished, taking Harry's left hand in her left hand

"Red hair, my heart is burning," Harry finished, brushing her hair back before taking her right hand in his again, in preparation for the Ceremony of the Rings of Smoke.

Harry watched again as the smoke began to swirl above his and Ginny's hands after Professor Dumbledore finished the incantations. It blew and twisted into a circle becoming more perfect and then twisted again into the eternity symbol. The symbol began to rotate in the air again and then suddenly turned black as thunder exploded in the hall. Harry heard people scream in surprise and felt Ginny begin to tremble. He was growing concerned when Dumbledore spoke.

"Do not be alarmed, I expected this," he said calmly to them. Harry looked at him and then Ginny. She seemed to be trembling in excitement and not concern as she watched the black smoke begin to fade.

"Sir, what is it supposed to mean?" Harry asked quietly.

"The symbol will only turn black and be followed by a clap of thunder like this when one of the two people getting married has lost their parents, Harry. It is believed that they are watching and approve of the choice that you have made. It is believed that they may have somehow saved the life of the person you are marrying, that they may also have been guiding Ginny to you in some way her whole life," Professor Dumbledore said to him.

Harry looked at him dumbstruck. He could hear people whispering excitedly in the background."

"Harry." Harry turned to look at Ginny again. "When I was in a coma in the hospital, my spirit was at the Ministry in the Death Chamber. Your mother came and stopped me from going through the veil. She also opened a door at the top of the chamber for me that allowed me to wake up," she whispered to him.

"She came to you too?" Harry asked. Ginny looked at him quizzically for a moment.

"When were you there?" she asked.

"Just before I woke up in the cemetery; with you lying on top of me." Ginny smiled at him.

"Yes, she came to me too, Husband."

"There is also supposed to be something very unique about the partner whose parents are still living," Dumbledore remarked quietly. Harry and Ginny both snapped out of the trance they had slipped into while gazing into each others eyes.

"Harry," Ron said from behind him. Harry turned to look at him. "Ginny is the first girl born into the Weasley line in more than three centuries," he said. "I remember Bill telling me about the celebration when she was born. There is no doubt in my mind after seeing your smoke symbol that your mother has something to do with Ginny standing in front of you right now." Harry blinked and turned back to Ginny.

"I guess I just beat Bridgette," Ginny smiled at him.

"I'm glad you did," Harry replied.

"Shall we continue?" Dumbledore said quietly. "Two eternity symbols in one night, many people would like to congratulate you four."

"Yes sir," Harry and Ginny replied together, as they stepped to the side, and turned to face their guests making room for Ron and Hermione to join them.

"Ladies and Gentlemen I am pleased to present for the first time as husband and wife, Mr. and Mrs. Ronald and Hermione Weasley, and Mr. and Mrs. Harry and Ginevra Potter. Ronald, Harry, you may kiss your brides," Professor Dumbledore said proudly to them.

Harry turned to Ginny again and placed his lips on hers. It was all he could do not to laugh as he heard the twins cheering in the background over the fireworks they had just set off. They were followed by the rest of the crowd.

* * *

Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione collapsed onto the couch of their new flat in the Gryffindor tower.

"Wow, what a night," Ron said letting out a sigh of relief. Hermione snuggled up in his lap, her head on his shoulder.

"Happy, Love?" she asked. Ron turned to her and kissed her on the top of her head.

"Yes, Mione, I'm beyond happy."

"You know," Harry said standing up and pulling Hermione with him, "I know I gave a speech, but I don't think I ever really congratulated either of you. And I know I did not dance with your lovely bride." Harry started to twirl Hermione around the room with him. Ron pulled Ginny off the couch to join them.

"Oddly enough I don't think I danced with yours either, Harry," Ron replied. They moved around the room together for awhile, no music, just best friends clinging to each other in the peace before the storm they all new was coming. Harry guided Hermione back to Ron and picked Ginny up in his arms.

"Goodnight, Mr. and Mrs. Weasely," he said to them, as he closed the door to his and Ginny's room. Harry sat on the bed with Ginny in his arms for a long time.

"Did you put the envelope on their bed, Gin?" Harry asked her.

"Yes, Husband," Ginny replied into his neck before getting up and heading to the bathroom. "I will be back shortly," she said to him.

* * *

Ron carried Hermione into their room and placed her on the bed.

"What's this?" she asked picking up the envelope.

"It has our names on it, why don't you open it?" he replied. Hermione broke the seal on the envelope, a key fell out of it along with a letter.

"It's from Harry and Ginny," she said moving next to Ron so they could read it together.  
_  
Ron and Mione:_

Ginny and I wanted to try and find a way to thank both of you for sharing your day with us. This really isn't it we both know love cannot be bought. I wondered for a long time about the two of you. If there is one thing I'm glad to have done in my life it was to force Ron's hand.

Harry and I can't tell you how much the two of you mean to us. When Harry and I finally figured out our own issues, he told me what he was planning to do for your wedding gift. As we are now married this is from both of us.

Ginny and I talked for a long time the night after we became engaged. Mostly about what we wanted to do after this war was over. We find that we don't know. We both think being an Auror or working in the Department of Mysteries would be cool, if we had not already done so.

What Harry and I are trying to say is that we may choose to do nothing for a while. Take the time to enjoy the world away from the newspaper headlines that our lives have become. We have decided that you two, who shoulder as much burden as we do, should have the right to choose also.  
Ginny and I have opened an account in both of your names at Gringots. You will find that there is enough money for you both to last you your lifetimes, regardless of how many children you might have. We don't care if you ever spend a knut of it, but we do not wish to see it ever again.

Please do not be offended by our gift, it really means nothing to either of us. What Harry and I care about is the two of you. We have all chosen the path we are on, and for now must fight, but when the time comes for peace. We want you both to be able to do what you want, and not what you must.  
We know what you are both thinking right now. Please don't try to give this back tonight, we are sleeping.

Love in blood, blade, oath and our hearts: Our lives for yours.

Harry and Ginny Potter

* * *

Author's note:

Once again, I must thank **Ashwinder** for giving me permision to borrow her ideas for the light ceremony and the smoke ceremony used in my wedding scene from her. She used them in her story, _The Long Road Home,_and though I made a modification to the smoke ceremony for Harry and Ginny, I have yet to come across anything I like more or make up something of my own that is as good.

The prequel to, _Long Road Home,_ is, _Ginny's Gift_. Both are excellent stories. Perhaps the best I have read since starting to read fan fics. You should check them out. They can be found on mugglenet.

Sorcerer's Muse


	3. Chapter 3: It Begins

Please note the world of Harry Potter belongs to JKR. I'm only playing with her creation. Also the story image was a free download I found. Thank you to whomever it belongs. I will remove it immediately if asked.

* * *

Author's note:

As with, A Promise Kept and Harry Potter and the Blood Traitor, this is an older work that I am posting to help tide people over till my new works are ready. If I were to write this now, I would hit it with a pretty heavy editing hand. But I'm not writing it now and will be leaving it as is. Still, while it won't help this story, your comments will help my future work. So I will say it again, reviews are how you pay fanfic authors. I thereby challenge anyone who reads, like it or loath it to leave a review. I will do my best to respond to all signed reviews.

Also, I'm perfectly aware that with the title of the story and a quick google search you can find the whole thing. Certainly I can't stop you from doing so. Just know that I while I have not taken my works down from the old site, I no longer check anything there. If you want an answer to a question, you're going to have to contact me here.

Hope you like it.

Authors' note#2:

I suppose I should have expected this as my old work is going up. It was a very different life and more than five years since I said I was done with fan fiction. Now I'm back writing again. I'm on a new site with a new penname. A simple google search of the titles of my old work will direct you to mugglenet and the penname of huskers. So, I might as well say that yes, I use to post on mugglenet under the penname of huskers. Please read the bio there that directs you to find any new work as well as my old work here under the new penname of Sorcerer's Muse. Yes, I am one in the same. If you have any doubts that I am the same person and that all the work posted here is indeed mine, please go to mugglenet. Look up huskers' page and send an email with an appropriate code word of your choosing. I will then post that code word on my profile here to prove that I am the same person. **Note, I will not post anything vulgar or inappropriate.**

As always, thank you for reading my work.

Sorcerer's Muse

* * *

**It Begins**

* * *

Ginny woke up the morning after her wedding night laying on her side with her stomach firmly pressed into Harry's back, her arm wrapped around him, their legs entwined with each others. She had been dreaming about flying; her, Ron and Hermione with Harry in his animagus form. She had had this same dream almost every time Harry had sat with her since that first day of the Christmas Holiday this past year.

It was amazing to Ginny that she could even dream anymore. Years and years without sleeping at all and then all the nights spent sleeping next to Ron and Hermione without dreams, it had been wonderful to simply sleep, but to dream frivolous things again like a five year old child was beyond amazing.

Ginny had been thrilled when Ron and Hermione had become engaged. She had also been terrified, it left her with only Harry who understood, and he would eventually find someone and leave her too. But instead of finding someone else Harry had wanted her. Not only had he wanted her, but it didn't hurt him to sleep next to her like it did Ron and Hermione.

_What could possibly be different about him?_Ginny asked herself for the millionth time since the night before Halloween last year.

Ginny smiled as Harry rolled over in his sleep, she could see his face now. With his eyes closed, it was the only time she didn't see the clouds that always dwelled in them. But something had changed, even in that, in just the last week. His eyes had always seemed to be disturbed to her, full of determination, but not daring to hope. Now once in awhile she would catch him watching her and they were clear. If just for the briefest moment before he shut down again. She knew what was going on behind the smile. Harry was trapped, and there was only one way out.

Ginny knew it was only a matter of time before Tom would run out of patience and attempt to kill Harry again. Something told her their next confrontation would be the last for one of them. If Tom won, she knew that her, Ron and Hermione were living on borrowed time. The last battle had brought them all to his attention, and they were all too powerful to live. Even though they did not have it in them to destroy him, Tom did not know that. To him, just like Dumbledore, they were a threat. Standing in his way of total domination and he would not abide their existence any more than he did Harry's.

Ginny knew Tom like no one else alive. She understood the first prophecy very well, better even than Harry or Dumbledore. The one part where it looked like there was a way out was impossible. It wasn't that either Tom or Harry was in danger of dropping dead on some random day because they were both alive at the same time. The problem existed because the evil that lived in Tom, could not abide any good in the world. Harry had become the first target because of the good in him and the prophecy that tied he and Voldemort together. He would be forced to fight until either he or Tom was destroyed. It was a cycle that would be repeated over and over until the end of time. Good, Ginny believed would win that last battle. She didn't see how it could be any other way. How else could she be promised a happy eternity with Harry when they both left this world?

Ginny smiled again, the battle between Harry and Tom would not be the last battle between good and evil. But it would be the end of the great evil of her lifetime. Maybe even a few generations after her would know peace. She knew Harry had the strength to win, they just needed to find the path, and the second prophecy said it was in her. Something in the scar that Tom had left in her would show Harry the weakness he could use to defeat Tom.

Ginny thought back to the battle that had occurred a little over two weeks ago now. Harry had lashed out at Tom to save her when she refused to leave him to die. Both Harry and Tom had been knocked out, but Harry had recovered first. If they had only known what the weakness was, Tom had been helpless to defend himself. He was going to be brutal beyond anything anyone had ever seen because of it.  
Ginny knew he would never admit it, but Tom Riddle, for the first time in a long time, was now scared of someone besides Albus Dumbledore. The madness that was in him was too blind to simply hide until Harry died of old age to begin his final conquest. He would seek Harry out even if it might lead to his demise. That in itself was a weakness; they needed to find a way to take advantage of it.

Ginny watched as Harry's eyes opened and he turned to her, they were clear again as he looked at her. Ginny felt her heart swelling in her chest, her face flushed as if she had been caught doing something she shouldn't have.

"Good morning, Husband."

"I love you, Ginny," Harry replied as he rolled onto his side to face her. Ginny didn't reply other than to smile at him. His eyes were still clear, and she was afraid to move lest he shut down again. She wanted him to feel hope for as long as possible. Finally she saw the cloud come back over him again.

_That was the longest time yet. He is starting to truly look past the battle he must fight,_the voices said to her.

_He is starting to hope,_Ginny replied to them.

_**"Ginny?"**_Ginny heard Harry's voice in her head.

_**"Yes?"**_Ginny thought back to him

_**"How long have you been a legilimens?"**_The question came directly into her mind again.

"It is only with you," Ginny responded out loud, breaking the connection.

"Do you know how to keep me out when you don't want me in?" Harry asked her.

"Not really."

"Make your mind go blank, it is easy for you and I to reach out into each other's minds because we trust, and want the other person to be there. You and I are not seeking to find something the other person does not want to reveal. It feels safe. Do you understand?"

"Kind of," Ginny replied.

"You'll see when we get started later today with Ron and Hermione. It is not safe for me to show you what it is like when the invasion is unwanted right now."

"You're not going to tell me more right now?"

"No, right now I'm going to kiss you," Harry replied leaning into her.

* * *

"Morning Weasleys," Harry said as he sat down with Ginny in his lap at the dining table in the common area of their flat with Ron and Hermione. Ron and Hermione were quiet for a moment before they looked at them.

"Harry, Ginny, this is just too much," Hermione replied quietly as she laid the letter and key on the table. Harry sighed; he knew this would happen. How could it not when you give someone enough money to make them quite wealthy?

"Would you believe me if I told you Sirius gave it to you? That he left instructions in his will for you two to have it for your wedding gift from him?" Harry asked quietly

"No," Ron replied. Harry closed his eyes, shaking his head. Money meant nothing to him. It made things both easy and difficult. He had simply wanted Ron and Hermione to be free from wondering if they would be able to afford their next meal, house payment, or if they would be able to pay for their children to attend Hogwarts when the time came.

"Would you accept it if he had?" Ginny asked.

"It is not right to disregard the wishes of the dead," Hermione replied.

"Then pretend," Ginny answered her. "Accept this without guilt. Harry and I still have more than we need. You accepted the pledge of our lives when we performed the Blood Oath, was that not more valuable than this?" Ron and Hermione were quiet for a long time again.

"We don't know what to say, we have no gift for you like this," Hermione whispered.

"Don't say anything, Mione," Ginny replied. Your gift was sharing your wedding day with Harry and me. That was far more valuable to us than the money in that account." Ron and Hermione stared at the table before turning to each other. They reached an unspoken agreement before Hermione answered for both of them.

"Thank you," she whispered

"You're welcome," Harry and Ginny replied together.

* * *

Harry and Ginny were lounging on the couch by the fire in their flat watching Ron and Hermione. Ron was trying to play chess again, but Hermione was doing her best to distract him. She had forced her way onto his lap and was sneaking kisses onto his cheek and neck every time he seemed close to making a move. It was all they could do not to laugh at them.

"Some honeymoon this is," Hermione grumped at him. Harry and Ginny snorted. Ginny pulled Harry's face around to look at him, his eyes were clear again and she felt herself drowning.

_**"Potter?"**_she thought to him. Harry shook his head at her and smiled.

"You're not in, Gin," he whispered to her, his eyes blazing. Ginny felt something stirring inside her at his challenge. She tried again focusing her thoughts on seeing into his eyes. There was something there now, they were still clear, but she could feel nothing behind them like the few times she had been in his mind before.

_**"Empty your mind, Gin."**_The thought exploded into Ginny's mind. She could feel him, see him standing inside her mind. He could go anywhere he wanted right now, just like Tom had. Harry felt her begin to panic, he quickly exited.

"Are you ok?" he whispered. Ginny nodded at him.

"This is going to be very difficult for you, Gin," Harry whispered. "I'm going to hurt you. I'm sorry." Ginny reached up to him and placed her hand on the side of his face.

"I will bear any pain that will help you defeat Tom. It is the only way for us to be free," she whispered to him. Harry closed his eyes and sighed.

"Lie to me, Gin. Promise me he will not harm you."

"I promise, Harry." Harry opened his eyes again to look at her.

"It's time, Gin."

"We will be strong for you, be strong for us, Harry," Ginny whispered to him.

* * *

Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione were all sitting in a circle on the floor in the sitting area of their flat as Harry prepared to begin their legilimency and occlumency training.

"What do we need pensieves for?" Ron asked as he watched Harry point his wand at his temple, pull a silvery strand out of his head and place it in one of the four bowls.

"Right know I'm removing the knowledge from my head of curses that could really hurt you," Harry replied. "There are also memories that I don't want to share with you or Hermione that you could see if you are able to break back into my mind."

"What could we want to hide from each other?" Ron asked. Harry smiled at him while giving Ginny a quick wink.

"Do you want me to see you and Hermione making love?" Ron and Hermione's mouths dropped. Ginny sniggered and shoved her fist in her mouth as she tried to stop laughing at the expression on their faces.

"We haven't," Hermione stammered at him blushing furiously

"I didn't say you had," Harry replied with a cheeky grin. "I just wanted you to realize that there are things you might not want to share with me. I'm protecting myself as much you. The more private the thought I come across, the more likely you are to lash out at me."

"How do we do that?" Hermione asked, as she watched Harry place another strand in the bowl.

"Point your wand at your temple, think of the memory you want and pull your wand away," Harry replied quietly, as he placed the last of about twenty strands in his pensieve. After a discussion with Ginny, in which he had learned that while all the Weasley children were loved and considered nothing but a blessing by their parents. Every one of them had been a shock as precautions had been taken to prevent such things. Those precautions had failed. Considering just how dangerous their lives were. And the problems of bringing a child into their world by some accident, he and Ginny had decided to try and wait for that part of their relationship. And while he and Ginny may not have made love yet either, there were defiantly things he did not want Ron or Hermione to see.

"It's kind of tough to know where to start," Harry began as he watched his two best friends and wife begin placing silvery strands in their respective pensieves.

"Just do your best, Harry. It has always been enough in the past and it will be now too," Hermione answered. Harry smiled at her.

"Thanks, Mione," Harry replied, and then taking a deep breath the lesson began.

"It generally works only with eye contact. Voldemort and I have a strong enough connection that we don't need it. There are two ways to protect yourself. You can either not let me in, or you can throw me out when I do get in. If I get in your mind, I will be able to go anywhere I want, see anything I want until you throw me out, or I decide to leave. Are you with me so far?"

"Yes, how do we keep you out?" Ron asked.

"Your mind needs to be blank. If I can't find some thought to latch onto in the first place, I will not be able to get in. You need to bury your memories. I focus on being surrounded by a cloud. The first thing Voldemort sees when he tries to get in my head is a vast whiteness; he has no idea where to go to find anything else. Essentially he is in, but he is lost, unless I give him some clue he just finds emptiness."

"So because he finds emptiness he is forced out?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, after some amount of time, it becomes impossible to stay. It takes too much energy to try endlessly."

"So how do we get you out if you get in?" Ginny asked.

"Once I'm in, it is very difficult to fight. Memories will fly through your head; you will find it incredibly difficult to focus. You can curse me just like if we were dueling. The more personal the memory I rip from you, the more desperate you will become. If you are able to focus enough to curse me then you will lash out with the first thing that comes into your mind.

"That could easily enough be _Avada Kadavera_. I have no idea if it would kill me, but when I was doing this with Snape, the curses I hit him with had close to the same effect as if we had been dueling." Harry watched as the three of them quickly placed more silvery strands into their pensieves.

"Leave yourself the ability to stun me," Harry remarked dryly. "For the four of us, it will be easy to connect if we want to. Ginny already has developed the ability to get in my head if I let her," he continued. Ron and Hermione looked at Ginny who just smiled at them.

"It's only with Harry," she whispered at them.

"Who taught you?" Ron asked quietly.

"Tom," Ginny replied her eyes flashing. Ron's eyes bugged out of his head, Harry saw his rage building. He had guessed that Ginny must have figured out how to look into his mind from Voldemort, but had not asked her about it, figuring it was one of the memories she would not want to think about. Harry found himself marveling at her strength and dreading how much more he would have to demand from her.

"Let's get started," Ron said as he stood up and faced Harry. "I want to go first."

"Ok," Harry replied climbing off the floor with him, "We'll start with you letting me in so you can get an idea of what to expect. Then I'll have you try to keep me out. I want you to think of some memories that you don't mind me seeing." Ron nodded at Harry. Harry gave him a minute to think.

"Ok, Harry, go ahead," he said looking into Harry's eyes.

Ron's head spun, he was remembering the day Harry and he had met on the train for the first time. How scared he had been that Harry would shake hands with Malfoy and leave him to sit on the train alone. The memory changed again. Ron was moving forward on the chess board, the opposing side's piece was about to take him, he was falling to the ground.

He knew that Harry was feeling what he had felt when he crashed to the ground, that Ron's first concern was Hermione's safety. The memory spun again to he and Harry pulling Fleur Delacour's little sister to the shore after Harry rescued both her and Ron from the Merpeople during their fourth year. The memories stopped, not by his choice, but because Harry had stopped. Suddenly he heard Harry's voice in his mind.

_**"Make your mind blank Ron, or throw me out. It will never be this easy again."**_

Focusing on being wrapped in a white cloud, Ron tried to push his memories down, clear his mind. Harry was still there, he could feel him searching again looking for an opening.

_No, not there!_the voices screamed in Ron's head as Harry found a crack. Ron's head spun again. He was mad, how could Harry have not told him he was going to enter the Tri Wizard Tournament. He was mad at himself now, how could he have believed that Harry was lying when he said he didn't put his name in the cup. Ron was down at the lake, he and Hermione were walking together hand in hand. She was pushing him against a tree pressing into him, her hand sliding under his shirt. He was trapped, desperately digging through the caved in rocks to get to Harry, to help him find Ginny in the Chamber of Secrets.

_**"Fight Ron!"**_Harry's voice exploded in his mind.

He was sitting at the table in the great hall cowering as his mother's howler screamed at him in front of the whole school. He was watching as the green light from Voldemort moved slowly towards Harry. Harry released him. Ron collapsed to his knees on the floor.

Ginny and Hermione rushed to him.

"I'm sorry, Ron," Harry mumbled to him.

"It's ok, Mione, Gin. It hurts, almost impossible to even think about fighting much less do anything about it," he said getting to his feet.

"I know," Ginny replied hugging him.

"It gets worse doesn't it, Gin? Once you lose the ability to fight he owns you, doesn't he? That is the difference between this and the _Imperius curse_isn't it?"

"Yes, Ron," Ginny answered clinging to him.

"Harry…."

"No, Ron, come into my mind, it is open right now. Use your wand-the spell is Legilimens," Harry interrupted him. Ron nodded at him and raised his wand.

_"Legilimens!"_Harry let him in. He could feel Ron searching in the white expanse of emptiness.

Ron was searching for something anything, there was nothing but emptiness.

_**"What do you want, Ron?"**_Harry pushed the thought to him.

_**"It was the prophecies, wasn't it Harry? You were tested when Malfoy offered you his hand that first day on the train, and my heart failed you at the beginning of fourth year."**_Ron's voice spoke into Harry's head

_**"Yeah, Ron, it was,"**_Harry replied. And then Ron became lost in the emptiness of Harry's mind; the spell was almost broken.

_**"I thought you said it would be very hard for me to stay here like this?"**_Ron thought to Harry. Harry smiled at him.

_**"I'm letting you stay right now, Ron,"**_Harry replied.

"And know….I'm not," Harry said out loud. Ron felt himself drowning in Harry's mind, energy draining from his body.

_We've got to get out,_the voices panicked in Ron's head, dropping the spell they were trying to maintain.

"Wow!" Ron gasped in awe, as he regained his senses. "I need to sit down. You drained energy from me like never before."

"I know, Ron. Why do you think I slept for four days straight after the fight with Voldemort?" Harry replied. "I couldn't have killed him even if I knew how that day. I didn't have the energy to levitate even a feather."

"Are you ok, Love?" Hermione asked him quietly

"Yeah, Mione, I think I'm done for today though," Ron replied.

"Ok then, I guess it's my turn." Hermione said kissing him on the cheek.

"Mione, it hurts," Ron whispered to her.

"It's the only way, Love. Learn to protect myself with Harry  
or fall to Voldemort," Hermione replied cupping her hand to the side of his face. Harry watched Ron, struggling with the pain that he knew Hermione was about to endure. Ron turned to Harry.

"Save her, Harry," he whispered.

"I promise," Harry replied. "Ready, Mione?"

"Do it, Harry," Hermione replied firmly.

"Memories you want to share first." Hermione nodded to him.  
Hermione's brain swam. She was flying with Ron, clinging to him for her life. She knew Harry could feel the terror she felt as she and Ron zoomed through the sky. She was in her animagus form hunting Harry, his scent filling her senses. Every nerve in her body was alive as she stalked him. She was lying on the floor of the common room with Ron, Harry and Ginny, everything was right with her world. Suddenly she could feel Harry stop.

_**"Throw me out Mione."**_His voice rang in her head.

She was kissing Harry at the base of the stairs to the top box last fall; she knew that Harry could feel her desperately wanting to tell him yes. She was screaming at Ron in the common room. "NEXT TIME ASK ME!" She was crying herself to sleep that same night. The pain as raw now as it had been then

_No! I love him and he loves me!_Hermione screamed in her head.

Hermione was in Harry's head. His heart was screaming in agony as he fought with Voldemort using her and Ron as his strength. Harry threw her out, renewing his attack, digging deeper into her mind.

She was being failed in all of her classes, thrown out of Hogwarts. Her friends were leaving her. Ron was standing in front of her on Valentines Day. She had hurt him that day, not understanding just how much he loved her. Only this was her nightmare, Ron wasn't forgiving her joke. He was leaving her. Harry seized on it, pounding it into her head that Ron had left her. She was dying, collapsing to the ground as he walked away from her, ignoring her cries, fading into the distance, never even looking back. She was standing in front of Ron and he was speaking to her. "With this ring, I Ronald Weasley, take you, Hermione Granger for my wife."

Harry stopped his attack leaving her with the memory of Ron's wedding vows. Hermione felt herself in Harry's mind, he in hers.

_**"Force me out Mione. Empty you mind."**_His voice came into her head. Harry could feel all of the memories flying around behind the thin white wall he was surrounded by. He didn't try to attack any of them.

_**"How?"**_Hermione thought back to him. She couldn't control her emotions. Harry had taken her from her lowest low to her highest high. It had been brutal when he moved into memories she did not want him to see.

_**"I know what you're thinking, Mione, I'm sorry I hurt you."**_Harry let her into his mind as he pushed the thought to her allowing the pain in his heart from hurting her to come to the surface creating a weak spot in the wall that was blocking her from going deeper.

Hermione felt it, his pain as deep as what she had felt when he ripped into her nightmare of Ron leaving her.

_**"I would never ask you to suffer more than I am willing to suffer myself, Mione, I'll die first,"**_Harry pushed the thought into her mind.

_**"I know, Harry, that is why I trust you."**_

_**"You are in my mind as much as I am in yours right now, Mione. I'm going to leave yours and let you stay in mine. Stay there as long as you can."**_Hermione felt her mind clear she focused on staying in Harry's mind. He was closing the hole he had opened for her. It was absolutely silent in the white expanse. She couldn't breathe.

_We need to get out of here!_the voices screamed at her.

_No, not yet!_she screamed back at them. Hermione felt her strength fading.

_There has to be something,_she said desperately to herself. Harry released her from the trap that was his mind just before she collapsed to the floor, he caught her as she fell forward.

"Mione!" Ron yelled, jumping up to help Harry. "You went too far," he snapped angrily at Harry. Harry didn't try to defend himself.

"No, Love, I did it to myself. I refused to quit trying to get in his mind until I collapsed," Hermione tried to calm Ron.

"I'm sorry, Ron," Harry said quietly.

"Ronald, we have to get stronger. It hurts Harry as much as it does us. I know, Harry let me feel it," Hermione said to him. Ron sighed.

"I know; I just can't take seeing you hurt, Mione."

"This is our life, Ronald. Your love for me must be strong enough to allow me to suffer. Voldemort is coming for all of us, not just Harry. Can you let him come for me if I am unprepared?" Ron closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"No, Mione. I'm sorry, Harry."

"It's ok, Ron. I know how you feel. I'm about to do the same thing to my wife," Harry replied, hugging him. Hermione and Ginny joined them.

"How did this happen do us?" Ron asked after a few minutes.

"I don't know, Ron, but when this is all done we are all going on a real honeymoon," Harry replied. They stayed together for a long time.

"Maybe tonight we could all stay out here in front of the fireplace, kind of like this past Christmas Holiday," Hermione said quietly.

"I'd like that, Hermione," Ginny whispered.

"Yeah, that sounds good to me too," Harry added.

"Me too," Ron agreed.

"I think it's my turn, Harry," Ginny said a moment later as she stepped back from the group. Harry groaned to himself and turned to her.

"I can take anything you can give, don't you dare hold back on me." Ginny said to him. Her eyes were blazing away already, her wand leveled at him. Harry raised his wand at Ginny.

_"Legilimens!"_they said together

Harry could feel Ginny trying to enter his mind. At the same time she was fighting him, her mind a wall of white. Harry searched; she was draining him, not like Voldemort did but she had only just learned the secret of how to keep someone out. Tom had always just been able to enter her mind, forcing her to try and throw him out, a much more difficult thing to do. Harry found something.

Ginny was standing in front of the Mirror of Erised, seeing herself and Harry in it. She was sitting at her desk casting spells over her picture, attaching it to the back of a chocolate frog card of Albus Dumbledore. She was eleven years old again, killing the school rooster. Ginny was writing on the wall in blood. Tom was tormenting her while she did it, letting her have control and then taking it away again. Harry felt his stomach lurch with the rage that surged in Ginny. He could hear her screaming in his mind as she fought against Voledmort. Harry was only just able to cast a shield spell in his mind when she lashed out at him with a stunning spell

Ginny was in his mind, feeling her pain had weakened him, allowing her to find him behind the wall of white. Harry was standing at the bottom of the stairs to the top box at the quidditch field Hermione was leaning in to kiss him. Harry closed her out forcing his way back into Ginny's mind.

Ginny was standing, watching Harry on his knees in front of her, holding a basilisk fang in his hand. She felt nothing as he collapsed from the poison that coursed through his body. Tom had her now, she was no longer herself, doomed to spend eternity, her soul being continually raped. Harry felt her hatred ripping through him driving him to his knees.

The image changed again. This time to the memory of a nightmare. Ginny was frantically trying to get out of the death chamber. Harry could hear her voice calling to her to wake up, and then breaking into sobs telling her it was too late that he was already dead. He watched her turnwalk through the veil. Harry was drowning in the pain he felt coming from Ginny. He desperately searched her mind for something good to leave them both with before letting her go.

_There!_the voices called to him

Ginny was lying with Harry in bed that morning watching him, he was sleeping. He could feel pure adoration for him, radiating from her memory.

_What did we ever do to deserve that?_the voices asked together.

Harry watched himself wake up and roll to face her. "Good morning, Husband." He heard her saying. "I love you, Gin." Harry stopped, retreating into her wall, letting the white surround him again.

_**"Throw me out, Gin,"**_he pushed the thought into her head.

_**"Tell me about Hermione's kiss!"**_Ginny demanded back into his mind. Harry let the memory come to the surface of his mind.

He was sitting next to Hermione, she was waking up, they were walking down the stairs, her finger was on his lips. "Not an answer." Hermione was kissing him again. "Thank you for loving me." Hermione was running, Harry was chasing her, they were all eating breakfast when Cho came running towards them, her hair turned green and she crashed to the floor. Harry shut Ginny out again.

_**"She would have told you yes if you had let her,"**_Ginny gasped into his head.

_**"We both would have made a huge mistake,"**_Harry replied.

_**"You both would have been happy."**_

_**"Maybe, but it would not have been what we each have now."**_Harry felt himself struggling to stay in Ginny's mind. She was incredibly strong draining him. He fought to keep his connection to her while pushing her out, knowing if he let her win that her wrath would be horrendous. She would rip into his mind without remorse demanding that he fight back. He lost all track of time for how long they fought each other finally he managed to find one thought she could not bury deep enough yet.

"I, Harry James Potter, offer myself as Husband. To you, Ginerva Molly Weasley, hold me forever." Harry broke the connection for both of them.

"Damn!" Ginny grumbled at him before crossing the room and taking him in her arms.

"I thought you would be pleased that I won, Gin?"

"That doesn't mean I have to like it when you do, Harry."

"Did I meet your expectations, Gin?" Harry asked gazing into her eyes.

_**"It won't be so easy next time, Potter."**_Harry laughed, shaking his head at her.

"How can someone as tiny as you, be so strong, Gin?" Harry asked her quietly.

"You're mother knew I would have to be strong when she picked me," Ginny replied.

"Puhlezze, you two are worse than Ron and I have ever been," Hermione said tossing a pillow at them. Harry caught it and then found his knees buckling as Ginny pressed her lips to his.

"Disgusting!" Ron said as he pulled Hermione to him.

* * *

Author's Note:

I take pretty big liberties with both **legilimency** and **occlumency**in this chapter and the rest of my story. I'm not sure if this was what JKR had in mind when she came up with this stuff, and she hasn't really told us all the capabilities of these two skills yet.

Anyways, this is what I see the characters being able to do with this kind of magic. I hope you guys like it.


	4. Chapter 4: The General Begins to Plan

Please note the world of Harry Potter belongs to JKR. I'm only playing with her creation. Also the story image was a free download I found. Thank you to whomever it belongs. I will remove it immediately if asked.

* * *

Author's note:

As with, A Promise Kept and Harry Potter and the Blood Traitor, this is an older work that I am posting to help tide people over till my new works are ready. If I were to write this now, I would hit it with a pretty heavy editing hand. But I'm not writing it now and will be leaving it as is. Still, while it won't help this story, your comments will help my future work. So I will say it again, reviews are how you pay fanfic authors. I thereby challenge anyone who reads, like it or loath it to leave a review. I will do my best to respond to all signed reviews.

Also, I'm perfectly aware that with the title of the story and a quick google search you can find the whole thing. Certainly I can't stop you from doing so. Just know that I while I have not taken my works down from the old site, I no longer check anything there. If you want an answer to a question, you're going to have to contact me here.

Hope you like it.

Authors' note#2:

I suppose I should have expected this as my old work is going up. It was a very different life and more than five years since I said I was done with fan fiction. Now I'm back writing again. I'm on a new site with a new penname. A simple google search of the titles of my old work will direct you to mugglenet and the penname of huskers. So, I might as well say that yes, I use to post on mugglenet under the penname of huskers. Please read the bio there that directs you to find any new work as well as my old work here under the new penname of Sorcerer's Muse. Yes, I am one in the same. If you have any doubts that I am the same person and that all the work posted here is indeed mine, please go to mugglenet. Look up huskers' page and send an email with an appropriate code word of your choosing. I will then post that code word on my profile here to prove that I am the same person. **Note, I will not post anything vulgar or inappropriate.**

As always, thank you for reading my work.

Sorcerer's Muse

* * *

**The General Begins to Plan**

* * *

The Hogwart's vault for all of its potions notes was vast. As large as the school library, it stretched on seemingly endlessly - shelf after shelf full of aging, leather bound tomes, scrolls and loose pieces of yellowed, brittle parchment all arranged by date and the type of potion that had been researched soared from the floor to the ceiling more than thirty feet above them. The colossal stones that formed the deepest foundations of the castle, created a cave like climate in the vault that provided the perfect environment to preserve the different parchments in. Light was provided not by torches, whose smoke would contribute to decay of the priceless knowledge recorded in the tomes, but by hundreds of lit wands all through the vault.

In the short time that Hermione and Ginny had been descending into the deepest bowels of the castle, far below the dungeon where potions class was held, Hermione had come to one amazing conclusion. It seemed that nearly a third of all the discoveries and advances in potions making had come from a student. It was a concept that had thrilled her, and now as she and Ginny sorted through page after page of parchment, she was onto something herself.

Setting the thought aside for later, she looked over to where Ginny was sitting at the table nearly buried under precariously leaning stacks of notes, that without magic holding them up would have crashed down on her in an avalanche of dust, and debris hours ago. Sighing, she shook her head, wondering exactly why Professor Dumbledore had given her access to the vault. Surely it couldn't be just to help her continuing efforts to teach Ron and Harry. If that was all he wanted her to do, all she needed was access to Snape's supply cabinet and the books for seventh year potions. Not that she hadn't been given access to that also, but there had to be some other reason for her and Ginny getting to sift through more than a thousand years of some of Hogwart's best kept secrets. Unfortunately, Professor Dumbledore had not given her any direction, only that she would have access to the notes.

As she sat there, Hermione found herself wondering what Professor Snape would think of her looking through all of this. He had to know she was in here. She had been dreading how he would react the first time he came in here and found her. She was more than glad that Professor Dumbledore had agreed to let Ginny accompany her.

Hermione mentally shook herself trying to clear her head and found herself watching Ginny; she was more and more in awe of her every day. Ginny was pushing Harry harder than ever. They had only been doing occlumency and legilimency with Harry for a week, when she had gotten tired of Harry always being able to throw them out of his mind, most of the time none of them could even get in. She had forced Harry into taking on her and Ron at the same time in an attempt to push him.

Hermione's mind wandered back to yesterday. She had watched Harry, his face contorted with the effort of fighting them both, sink down to the floor on one knee in front of them after almost two hours of continuous effort. Finally he had hit Ron with a binding curse when he had gotten too far into Harry's mind. Harry had fought Ginny for another hour before she collapsed to the floor. She had pulled away from him with enough strength left to tell Hermione to attack him before she passed out.

Hermione had fought Harry, battling back and forth with him, for another forty-five minutes. She had gotten into his mind deeper yesterday than ever before, looking for whatever it was that had caused him to curse Ron. His counter attack on her had been brutal. She had been forced to relive every nightmare she had ever had about losing Ron. She had finally managed to push him out into the white cloud she protected herself with and then he had drained her as she tried to get back in his head. Harry had let her go just before she collapsed.

Hermione grimaced slightly as the memory continued to roll through her mind. Ginny had recovered while Hermione had fought Harry and must have picked up with him again when she collapsed, because when Hermione had recovered she had looked up to see Harry falling to the floor completely spent with Ginny standing over him. She had levitated him to hers and Harry's bed and then collapsed next to him. Neither one had woken for dinner, sleeping all the way through to morning. How Ginny found the strength to fight again, Hermione couldn't fathom.

Now, today, she had insisted that Harry and Ron work on occlumency again today. The three of them had weakened Harry yesterday and Ginny was forcing him to fight when he had not recovered completely. Forcing him and by default all of them to find new depths to which they could dig for strength.

_The next thing you know she will have Dumbledore down here and force Harry to fight him, Ron and us at the same time,_said a new, third voice in Hermione's head. Hermione started.

_Where did you come from?_she asked, a small smile playing across her mouth.

_Not really sure. I'm just here,_the voice replied.

_Well as long as you are, do you have any ideas of what we should look for in here?_Hermione's second voice asked.

_Look for stuff that might be dark magic. Maybe we can find some clues to what Voldemort has done to himself that makes him only vulnerable to Harry,_the third voice replied.

_Dark magic?_Hermione's first asked timidly.

_We don't have to use it. But we can fight it better if we understand it,_the third voice responded.

"Ginny," Hermione said quietly.

"Yes, Mione."

"Look for dark magic potions, maybe we can find some clues as to what Voldemort has done to himself." Ginny regarded Hermione for a minute.

"Let's skim a bunch of stuff first, stack anything that might be useful on this table. Stuff we don't need put back on the shelves."

* * *

Harry and Ron squared off in front of each other in the sitting area of their flat; wands at the ready. Circling each other warily, Harry waited until he had maneuvered Ron so the light streaming in the window hit him in the eyes, causing a momentary distraction.

_"Legilimens!"_he said casting his spell. Ron was less then half a second behind him in sending the same spell at Harry. Both still drained from the day before, the battle of wills began in earnest. It had only taken a glare from Ginny at each of them to stop their complaints about being to tired after yesterday to practice today to get them to shut up. Now, Harry dug deep into himself trying to reach for what Ginny believed was there and Ron pushed hoping to bring it to the surface. Neither wanted to have to do this again with her later that day if she didn't think they had done enough. They both knew it would not be pretty if she wasn't satisfied. Worse, Hermione seemed at times, to be turning into a slightly tamer version of Ginny, herself.

Ron could feel Harry was weak when he first entered the white cloud. It was not nearly as dense as it had been yesterday. Harry's thoughts were much closer to the surface than normal. Reaching out with his mind, he tried to latch on to one of them.

Harry's head spun. He was in his fourth year again, the imposter Mad-Eye had him under the _Imperious curse._His second voice developed telling him to fight. Harry was flying, Ginny was falling blood spraying in the air from her collision with Cho Chang. Harry's third voice developed demanding that he catch her falling body. He couldn't do it she was still falling.

_No!_ Harry roared. _That did not happen, I saved her!_

Ron was back in the vast whiteness that Harry protected his mind with. Fighting each other, their strength draining rapidly, neither of them was able to penetrate beyond. Ron could feel Harry's defense weakening, He knew that Harry would not quit, that was not an option. He felt Harry's memories coming to the surface, he could go anywhere now, but there was no point. He just needed to make Harry fight to exhaustion. Ron pulled out of his own attack letting Harry continue with his.

Harry knew he was beaten, but he also knew the rules. He had to fight until he collapsed. He had demanded the same from Ron, Hermione and Ginny. Now it was his turn to trust Ron to release him before he was really hurt. Harry's mind was fogging as it had with Ginny yesterday the voices were screaming at him to get out while he still could. Harry sank to his knees looking for anything to give him strength to keep going. He had been more exhausted against Voldemort. He had to push beyond that, endure more, so he had the strength to deliver the final blow.

Ron skimmed Harry's mind again feeling the turmoil. He marveled at how long Harry was holding on, refusing to give in.

_Find something that will make him lash out,_the voices said to Ron. Ron skimmed the memories in Harry's mind again. He was vaguely aware that Harry was screaming in agony.

Harry's head spun. He was in the field again. Voldemort was standing over Ron, Hermione and Ginny. This was the nightmare that came from discovering the _Phoenix charm_, the one where Ron did not raise himself to save Hermione. Three bolts of light flew from Voldemort's wand striking Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. They were dead.

"Arrghhh!" Ron flew back into the wall smacking his head hard enough to see stars. He dropped to his knees and crawled over to Harry who was laying face down on the floor. He rolled Harry over lifting his head onto his lap.

"Come on, mate, wake up," he said, slapping Harry's face lightly. Harry groaned and opened his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Harry, but that hurt less than what Ginny would do to me if I hadn't pushed you so hard." Harry rolled over struggling to push himself to his knees.

"I know, Ron. It's ok," Harry replied.

"Harry, how are we going to be able to fight when the time comes if we are exhausted at the start?" Ron asked him after a few minutes.

"How exhausted were you today compared to the first day we did this, Ron?"

"I was fully rested that day," Ron replied.

"And how long did you fight that day compared to today?"

"Not very long," Ron said shaking his head. He struggled to his feet, reached down and offered his hand to Harry, helping him up.

"Harry, where are you now compared to after the fight with Voldemort?"

"I could fight him longer now, Ron. The problem is he will be stronger the next time we meet. Every time we have met and he has initiated some kind of contact with my mind, he has left me stronger than I was before. I'm worried that I might have made him stronger by initiating contact with his mind this time."

Ron sat down heavily on the couch. Harry joined him they sat quietly for a long time. Harry wasn't thinking about anything, but Ron's mind was alive. He could feel that something was just below the surface he just couldn't reach it yet.

_We need to find some way of weakening him before Harry has to fight him,_the voices said quietly to him.

_I know, the question is how,_Ron replied.

_We're not sure yet._

_Well work on it we're running out of time,_Ron told them.

"Damn!" Harry spat to no one in particular.

"What was that for?" Ron asked, startled at Harry's outburst.

"Voldemort just broke the Death Eaters we captured out of jail," Harry sighed, holding his head in his hands. "I should have killed them when I had the chance," he mumbled under his breath. Ron didn't even think it was odd that he wasn't questioning Harry's announcement regarding the Death Eaters. He studied Harry for a moment.

"Harry are you ok?"

"Trying to close him out," Harry muttered back to him. Ron watched Harry for awhile again.

"Harry, I need you to promise me something," Ron said quietly.

"What, Ron?" Harry sighed. He had just managed to close out the last of the prickling coming from his scar.

"Don't ever try to get in my head without telling me you are," Harry looked at him confused by the request.

"I never have, Ron, but why?"

"I can't tell you, Harry. Just promise me." Harry studied Ron for a few minutes. Ron closed his eyes.

"I promise, Ron," Harry said.

"Thanks, Harry," Ron replied. "Do you think we should go see Dumbledore about the Death Eaters?" he asked after a short pause.

"I'm sure he knows already, but we could go talk to him anyways. At the very least, I could use a walk," Harry replied.

"Let's go then," Ron said, standing up and heading for the door.

* * *

Ginny lay in bed watching Harry sleep again, she could tell he was agitated. He had been ever since she had made him fight her and Ron at the same time, then after he had beaten them both she had set Hermione on him. She had not expected him to beat Hermione, but he had. She had recovered to watch the last fifteen minutes of their fight. When Hermione had fallen she had attacked him again. She had beaten him. Together they had almost pushed Harry as far as Voldemort had.

Ginny reached out with her hand to touch him. Harry sighed deeply when her hand touched his.

_Thank Merlin we can give him peace,_the voices whispered to her. Ginny smiled. She knew it was her fault that he was in this state. It broke her heart to do it, but then she knew she had to. For some reason, Harry would fight for her. The only way she could fight for him was to push him, so she did.

Harry rolled over again so he was facing her. His eyes opened a few minutes later.

_**"You're always awake watching me, do you ever sleep?"**_Harry's thought came into her head.

_**"I like to see you at peace,"**_Ginny replied.

This was happening every morning now when they woke up. The intimacy of being in each other's minds was wonderful. Ginny wasn't even sure that making love would be as intimate as this. Having decided the risk of bringing a child into their lives even with contraceptive charms was more than either wanted to take right now, this was what they had found to satiate both of their desires. It wasn't easy, but it helped.

Ginny had not told Harry, but she and Hermione had talked about it. Ron and Hermione had reached the same conclusions as Harry and Ginny. One night they had come close to breaking their vow. Ginny had told Hermione about how she and Harry let each other in every night before they fell asleep, and when they woke in the morning. They would bring memories they wanted to share to the surface for each other. The wave of comfort was intense. Hermione had thanked her approximately a thousand times the next day.

_**"What do you have for me this morning?"**_Harry asked. Ginny smiled at him.

Harry felt her memory coming up from deep within her allowing him to leave the vast white emptiness he was standing in. He was watching himself crying on Ginny's shoulder in the cart outside of his vault at Gringots last summer. Seeing it from her point of view, feeling the sorrow she felt at his pain, but also the joy she felt because he was letting her comfort him. Harry understood how much this memory meant to her, how intensely private a moment it was. The joy he felt that she was showing it to him was intense. Harry pulled himself away from her receding into the emptiness again.

_**"Thank you, Gin,"**_he said to her.

_**"My turn?"**_Harry could sense her eagerness.

Ginny felt something stirring deep under the wall that protected Harry's mind. She was watching herself walk down the aisle on her fathers arm. She could feel Harry's emotions when he first saw her. Catching that his heart skipped a beat, that he was only vaguely aware of Hermione next to her, a girl that she thought was much more attractive than herself. Ginny felt the rush of excitement go through Harry when her father had placed her hand in his. She began to pull out of his memory into the emptiness again.

_**"I love you, Husband,"**_Ginny said to him. Harry smiled at her.

_**"Do you know what it does to me when you call me that?"**_

_**"Show me!"**_Ginny demanded the thought exploding in Harry's mind.

_**"Tonight."**_

"Prat," Ginny said out loud pouting at him. Harry laughed at her. Ginny rolled over, turning away from him pretending to be mad.

"You're a tease," she grumbled at him when he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her back into his stomach.

"I'll give you two tonight," Harry whispered nibbling on the back of her neck.

"Promise?" Ginny grasped at his offer.

"Promise," Harry replied. Ginny rolled back over to face him pulling his lips to hers kissing him deeply.

"Can we stay here all day, Gin?"

"We're going to get hungry."

"Dobby will bring food in here if we ask," Harry replied.

"That, will royally hack off Hermione, and having her mad at you is only slightly less appealing than making me mad, Potter," Harry sighed, and then before he could stop himself.

"Well then, I guess you had better get up and get me something to eat," he said shoving her out of the bed. Ginny hit the floor in a heap and sprang back up instantly.

"Oh, now you're dead, Potter," she growled at him. Harry had scrambled out of the bed and was opposite her now as she turned to face him.

"You don't scare me, Gin." Harry grinned at her.

"Is that a fact, Potter?" Ginny had found her wand on the floor, and was hiding it behind her back.

"Wand's are cheating, Gin." Ginny glared at him.

"Says who?"

"Me."

Ginny dropped her wand and leapt onto the bed jumping across it at Harry. He caught her in his arms, falling back to the floor with her. Ginny was tickling him. Harry fought back, but she was strong, and there was only one spot on her side that she seemed to be ticklish. Harry was ticklish everywhere.

"Ok, ok you win, Gin," he said gasping for air.

Ginny moved to straddle over him pinning his arms down to the floor under her legs.

"That won't cut it, Potter," she said, glaring down at him crossing her arms across her chest.

"No?" Harry asked, smiling at her.

"No."

"What?"

"Breakfast in bed, _you_will serve me," Ginny replied. Harry looked at her.

"Your wish is my command, Gin," Harry whispered to her. Ginny stood up and climbed back into the bed.

"I want strawberries, Potter," she called to him as Harry headed out the bedroom door.

"As you wish," Harry called back to her.

Harry walked back into the room a few minutes later with a tray for her. Dobby had brought him some toast, bacon, juice and a bowl of strawberries. He looked at his wife sitting up against the headboard, with the covers bundled around her waist. Harry felt his heart flutter at the picture.

"Come sit with me, Husband," Ginny said quietly to him. Harry set the tray on her lap and sat down next to her.

"My toast needs to be buttered, and I like it with marmalade," Ginny whispered, leaning her head on his shoulder. Harry laughed.

_This is kind of a fun game,_the voices said to him, as he spread the butter on Ginny's toast followed by marmalade. Harry handed it to her.

"Thank you," Ginny whispered taking it from him. Harry watched her eat.

"I'm thirsty now," Ginny said quietly. Harry smiled in spite of himself. He picked up a glass of juice and tipped it to her lips, gazing intently into her eyes as she drank.

_The clouds are gone from his eyes,_the voices said to her.

"That is much nicer than when Bridgette was doing it," Ginny whispered when he lowered the glass from her lips. Harry picked up a napkin and wiped a drop of juice from her lips.

"Thank you."

Harry suppressed a laugh, Ginny was blushing at him. He watched her pick a berry out of the bowl.

"Let me show you what to do, Husband," Ginny said while lifting the berry to his lips. Harry opened his mouth and she pushed the berry into his waiting lips. As Harry closed his mouth, Ginny left the tip of her finger there for him to kiss. Harry watched her eyes, drowning into their sparkling depths.

"Let me see if I have it right?" he said, repeating the process for Ginny. When he pushed the berry into her mouth Ginny leaned forward and closed her lips around his finger for an instant. A surge of electricity ran up Harry's arm and coursed through the rest his body.

"You need more practice," she told him licking her lips.

"Is that a fact?"

"Yes, here let me show you again." Harry and Ginny took turns feeding each other until the strawberries were gone. Harry set the tray on the floor when they had finished. Ginny had scooted down on the bed again lying on her side.

"Come, let me look at you," she said. Harry lay down on his side facing her again.

"Do you love me, Gin?"

"Yes, Harry, I love you," Ginny replied, watching his eyes. Harry smiled at her again and they stayed that way for a long time.

"No, don't go," Ginny whispered desperately as she watched the clouds come back.

"Hold me, Gin. Let me be weak for a minute," he pleaded back to her, as his eyes started to glisten. Ginny rolled onto her back and pulled Harry to her placing his head on her chest. She began to run her fingers through his hair.

"Tonight I get to be weak, Husband." Harry found her hand and wove his fingers between hers.

"Thank you, Wife," Harry replied before he fell asleep in her arms.

Harry woke up hours later still lying on Ginny's chest.

"You haven't moved since you fell asleep," she said when he looked up at her.

"Only a fool would move from this spot," Harry replied. "You're blushing," Harry teased her a moment later.

"I am not," Ginny snapped glaring at him.

"Gin, you're beautiful when you're mad." Harry laughed at her and then settled back down with his head on her chest.

"What time is it?" he asked a short while later.

"Almost time for lunch."

"You let me sleep all morning?" he asked, surprised that his task master had softened.

"Hermione and I decided that we all needed a day off….It will allow us to go even further tomorrow," Ginny replied quietly.

_Even in giving us time to rest she looks to push us harder,_the voices said in exasperation inside Harry's head.

_Do you really mind?_Harry replied to them.

_No, as long as we wake up next to her tomorrow, she can make any demand she wants,_they replied.

"Are we staying in bed all day then?" Harry asked.

"No, Hermione has some surprise for us this afternoon."

"What is it?" Harry asked excitement evident in his voice.

"She wouldn't tell me. But her last surprise was pretty good," Ginny replied. She sounded as excited as Harry. Harry pushed himself up and gave her a kiss.

"Come on, Gin. Let's go get them."

* * *

Ron ran along the edge of the lake just getting his feet wet trying to break the scent trail he was leaving behind. Hermione, Harry and Ginny were coming. He had to find some way of getting behind them, or he was going to be in trouble. Not that he wasn't toast anyways, he could take Harry alone, and he could handle both Hermione and Ginny together in his animagus form but all three of them, it was a not a battle he would win. Ron found what he was looking for and with a gigantic leap he reached the bottom branch of the tree that was over-hanging the lake.

Harry and Ginny followed along behind Hermione, she was teaching them how to hunt Ron by his scent. Hermione had transfigured both Harry and Ginny into lions. Harry was about thirty pounds lighter than Ron, golden brown with a very dark shaggy mane. Ginny was also a little smaller than Hermione, with a reddish brown coat. She was not as strong as Hermione, but had been absolutely ferocious during the first wrestling match earlier that afternoon.

Hermione stopped; she sniffed at the ground deeply where Ron had started to run through the water, and then moved to the side to let Harry and Ginny take in his scent also. Hermione transformed back to her human form.

"He's running in the water so we can't trail him. He is going that direction because it puts him downwind of us, carrying our scent on the wind to him," she said to them and then changed back into a lion. Harry and Ginny brushed up against her to indicate that they understood. Hermione set off again with Harry and Ginny trailing behind.

Harry watched Hermione intently; trying to learn how to hunt. He raised his head and sniffed the air, the confusion and intensity of smells that came to his brain was overwhelming. He recognized all of them, he had smelled it before, but now he could identify what things were by the scent they left behind. Hermione was right. This was absolutely thrilling.

Ginny watched Harry closely. She could have kissed Hermione for this, in fact she had. She could see Harry regaining his strength as the day went along. She was enjoying this as much as Harry was, the wrestling match with him had been more fun than she would have imagined. What really mattered to her though was Harry was having fun, forgetting about Voldemort and training to fight him. He was going to be unbelievably strong tomorrow when they worked on occlumency and legilimency with him.

Hermione stopped, she knew Ron was close. His scent was in the air swirling around, but she could not pinpoint where he was.

Ron watched them approach from up in the trees. He had managed to climb through the branches to a tree that was further into the woods than the one he first jumped into by the lake. Hermione was at that tree now. He lost sight of them as they moved past him. He would have to move quickly, the wind was now going to blow his scent to them.

_He's behind us!_the voices screamed at Hermione.

She spun just in time to see Ron charging at them. Harry and Ginny spun half a second later as they watched Hermione leap into the air, with an earsplitting roar, to meet Ron in mid leap. She was overwhelmed by him in a second and slammed onto her back on the ground.

Harry and Ginny joined the fray, slamming into Ron, knocking him off of Hermione. The three of them quickly surrounded Ron. Ron spun to face Harry, roaring at him, daring him to attack. Harry roared and leapt, he and Ron met fangs and claws ripping at each other. Ron threw Harry to the ground and spun to catch Hermione and Ginny coming at him. A second later Harry was part of the battle again. The three of them forced Ron back. Ron began to fight more and more ferociously, driving them off of him, getting a hold of Hermione and slamming her to the ground, he pinned her under him and stood there snarling at Harry and Ginny.

Harry was about to attack again when Ginny slammed into him from the side, Harry battled back with Ginny.

_She is brutal,_the voices said to him

_Well don't let her win, we may be playing, but she will be hacked off if we lose,_Harry replied desperately.

Harry finally managed to gain an advantage and slammed Ginny down on her back under him. Ginny struggled under Harry snarling furiously at him. She finally stopped fighting, and Harry could hear her start purring. Harry collapsed next to her, Ron and Hermione padded over and flopped down next to them. They stayed that way for a long time. Lounging in the shade of the trees as the sunlight filtered through the leaves to the ground. It was well past normal dinner time when the headed back up to the castle and their flat.

* * *

"Thank you Hermione," Harry whispered to her as the four of them sat watching the fire burn down in their shared sitting area. She had sat down next to him on the couch after Dobby had brought them dinner, and was now lying with her head in Harry's lap. She rolled to face him wrapped her arms around him pressing her face into his stomach, hugging him tightly.

"Your welcome, Harry," she said replied. Harry was a little surprised at her display of affection; he looked at Ron who smiled at him.

"Why don't we all stay out here tonight," Ron suggested from the chair he was sitting in with Ginny. "Tomorrow will be here soon enough. Let's keep the perfection of this day going for a little while longer."

"Sounds like a good idea to me," Ginny said getting up from the chair. "But I would like my husband back if you don't mind, Hermione." Hermione sat up sighing.

"If you must."

"What am I chopped liver?" Ron asked in a fake hurt voice.

"Sorry, Ron, but when you've got it….You've got it," Harry shot at him.

"Oh shut it," Ron replied pulling Hermione onto the floor with him.

"Hi, Love," she said to him as she snuggled in.

"Good night you two," Ginny said quietly as she pulled Harry onto the floor. Harry lay on his side, his eyes blazing and clear, gazing into hers.

_**"You're turn to be weak, Gin,"**_Harry thought to her.

_**"You owe me two memories, Potter."**_Harry smiled at her.

_**"You want them out here?"**_

_**"No, you will have to give me four tomorrow night,"**_Ginny replied, smiling back at him.

_**"Four?"**_

_**"Two for tonight, one for tomorrow morning and one for tomorrow night, Husband."**_

"Come and be weak, Wife." Harry whispered to her pulling her head to his chest.

"I love you, Harry."

"Go to sleep, Gin." Harry felt Ginny relax and her breathing become slow and steady. He fell asleep himself to the feel of her heart beating against him.


	5. Chapter 5: At What Price?

Please note the world of Harry Potter belongs to JKR. I'm only playing with her creation. Also the story image was a free download I found. Thank you to whomever it belongs. I will remove it immediately if asked.

* * *

Author's note:

As with, A Promise Kept and Harry Potter and the Blood Traitor, this is an older work that I am posting to help tide people over till my new works are ready. If I were to write this now, I would hit it with a pretty heavy editing hand. But I'm not writing it now and will be leaving it as is. Still, while it won't help this story, your comments will help my future work. So I will say it again, reviews are how you pay fanfic authors. I thereby challenge anyone who reads, like it or loath it to leave a review. I will do my best to respond to all signed reviews.

Also, I'm perfectly aware that with the title of the story and a quick google search you can find the whole thing. Certainly I can't stop you from doing so. Just know that I while I have not taken my works down from the old site, I no longer check anything there. If you want an answer to a question, you're going to have to contact me here.

Hope you like it.

Authors' note#2:

I suppose I should have expected this as my old work is going up. It was a very different life and more than five years since I said I was done with fan fiction. Now I'm back writing again. I'm on a new site with a new penname. A simple google search of the titles of my old work will direct you to mugglenet and the penname of huskers. So, I might as well say that yes, I use to post on mugglenet under the penname of huskers. Please read the bio there that directs you to find any new work as well as my old work here under the new penname of Sorcerer's Muse. Yes, I am one in the same. If you have any doubts that I am the same person and that all the work posted here is indeed mine, please go to mugglenet. Look up huskers' page and send an email with an appropriate code word of your choosing. I will then post that code word on my profile here to prove that I am the same person. **Note, I will not post anything vulgar or inappropriate.**

As always, thank you for reading my work.

Sorcerer's Muse

* * *

**At What Price?**

* * *

Harry and Hermione stood facing each other, while Ron and Ginny each sat in one of the squashy armchairs in the sitting area of their flat, nervously watching the two of them. The new potion that Hermione and Ginny had come up with had worked. Yesterday, Hermione had beaten Harry, and they were trying it again today.

"Legilimens!" Harry and Hermione yelled at each other. Harry was desperate. He didn't know what had changed in Hermione from two days ago, to yesterday, but the vast whiteness of her mind had become impossible to penetrate. Yesterday she had fought with him for close to five hours by herself. Harry had finally collapsed when she released him. Ginny had only said one thing to him.

"I'm disappointed in you."

Harry had not felt that low since he had sunk to his knees outside of the hospital wing when Ginny had been injured during the quidditch match. This had been worse. He was determined not to hear the disappointment in her voice today. Harry had been nervous before they started, he had not fully recovered from yesterday yet, and he was hoping Hermione was still tired too. He was disappointed to find that she was stronger.

The battle of wills raged, each trying to penetrate beyond the wall that was protecting their respective minds. Harry was aware of the voices deep in his mind trying to find a new way to fight Hermione, to weaken her so he could get into her head. Harry let a memory come to the surface of his mind.  
Hermione felt something give in Harry. She reached out and grabbed it and she was destroyed.

Harry had let his memory of the fight with Voldemort come to the surface. Hermione saw Ron under the control of the Imperious curse his wand raised at Harry preparing to kill him. She saw her own wand rise towards Ron.

Hermione's version of this memory had been created in a moment that did not allow for truly conscious thought to occur; the battle that had followed had forced her to push it away. And afterwards her subconscious had forced it so far into the depths of her mind that she did not even remember it. If she had, she would surely have placed the memory in her pensieve, protecting herself from the horror of what she had almost done. Now, this forgotten memory ripped to the surface of her mind. Hermione had been seconds from killing Ron. She had decided to do it, that she would kill him, fight to get Harry out and then kill herself.

Hermione instantly retreated from Harry's mind. Harry suddenly had the access he wanted when he let her see the memory from his point of view. His attack by retreat had worked, and now he realized the mistake he had made. Hermione was not even trying to fight; she had given up entirely. Every horrid memory that existed in her mind was flying at Harry, and it was threatening to drown both of them. Harry fought desperately to pull away from her; he could hear Hermione screaming in terror at what was happening to her. He finally pulled himself away and watched her crash to the floor.

Ron and Ginny were just starting to move to her aide. What had felt like and eternity to both her and Harry had in actuality only been seconds. Harry rushed forward to Hermione, who was trembling uncontrollably. Ginny got there first and Hermione let her take her in her arms, but she wouldn't let Ron near her.

_Oh shit,_Harry said to himself.

"Hermione, what's wrong?" Ron was pleading with her to look at him.

**"GET AWAY FROM ME!"**Hermione screamed at him. Ron's face turned white, Harry could see his eyes starting to shine as Hermione continued to push him away. He turned to Harry looking for help.

"What did you do?" he asked desperately. Harry knew what was wrong but could not even begin to explain to Ron why Hermione was doing this to him when he wanted to help her.

_How could I have been so stupid?_he screamed silently to himself.

"Hermione, please," Harry said, reaching out to touch her shoulder. She didn't push him away, but wouldn't look at him either.

"It's not your fault, Harry," she whispered. "That was the memory I found." Harry was beyond sick; she had found it because he wanted her to, not by accident.

"Please, Hermione. Don't shut him out," Harry begged her. "He is your husband Mione."

**"AND I DON"T DESERVE HIM!"**

**"AND HE DOESN'T DESERVE TO BE TREATED LIKE THIS BY HIS WIFE!"**Ginny roared shocking all of them. They sat in stunned silence for a few seconds.

"Please, Mione, there is nothing you can do that will make me not love you," Ron said quietly, reaching out his hand to touch her arm. Harry saw her shiver at his touch but she did not pull away from him.

"What happened, Harry?" Ron asked again. Harry sighed deeply. He cleared his mind and let the memory come to the surface. He would show Ron what had set her off, but would tell them later that it was not an accident that she found that memory. He needed to help Hermione and Ron, before he could try and save his friendship with either of them.

"Look in my mind, Ron," Harry said quietly. Ron looked into Harry's eyes. Harry watched as realization came over Ron of what had happened to Hermione.

"Mione, I still love you," Ron whispered. Harry saw Hermione choke at his words.

"How can you?" she asked not meeting his eyes.

"Mione, look at me. My mind is open come in," Ron said quietly. Hermione didn't respond.

"Please?" Ron asked again.

"How can you trust me?" Hermione whispered.

"Mione, look at me," Ron said, reaching out his hand and lifting her chin, their eyes met, and Hermione saw Ron walking forward towards Voldemort reaching out his hand to take the wand from him.

"You will kill them all." She heard Voldemort's voice in Ron's head. Hermione could feel Ron fighting desperately to throw the curse off, the power behind it ten times anything he had fought before. He was failing.

"Help me, Mione." Hermione heard Ron's voice pleading in his own mind for her to help him as he raised the wand at Harry's chest. She could feel the voices in Ron's mind desperately throwing images into his head of her and Ron together; holding hands under the table, kissing each other goodnight, anything and everything that had happened between them the whole year flashed through his head in a second. It wasn't enough; Ron was going to kill Harry and then her. The others would be easy. The words to the killing curse were forming in Ron's mind.

"I'm so sorry, Ronald. I love you." Hermione heard her own voice enter the memory, and felt Ron's head clear. She saw the smile that came over him just before he mouthed the word ready to her, Harry and the others.

"Thank God she was strong enough to make the right decision." Was the last thing she felt come from Ron's memory before she pulled away from him.

"You saved me, Mione. You saved us all, because Harry was too stupid to even defend himself. You made the right choice, Mione," Ron said while holding his hand on the side of her face. Hermione reached up and took his hand in hers.

"You really forgive me?" she asked barely above a whisper, her eyes pleading to believe his words.

"We know that Harry must live long enough to defeat Voldemort or the rest of us will die anyways. Remember I told you; I risked Harry on the chessboard. That was before we knew the truth. What would you say if I risked him now, made such a selfish decision again, would you still love me if I did? There is nothing to forgive. You made the only decision that could have saved me, Mione." Hermione pulled Ron to her and she broke down on his shoulder.

Harry stood up and moved away from them. He had listened to Ron's speech, with an ever-sickening stomach. His two best friends desperately in love with each other were forced to place him before their spouse. He felt like he was going to vomit at the thought. His anger was growing by the second at Voldemort for forcing his friends into the choices they were making. And he still had to tell Hermione and Ron the truth about how Hermione had come across that particular memory in his mind. He was terrified that he would lose them both.  
Harry felt Ginny's hand on his shoulder. He turned to look at her and her voice came into his mind.

_**"Husband?"**_

_**"She didn't find that memory by accident, Gin. I let her see it, hoping it would shock her, make her weak enough for me to get in her mind."**_

"I'm sorry you hurt her, but not sorry you found a new way to fight." Ginny spoke the words softly into his chest as she pulled him tight.

"Ginny, the first day we did this. She said she trusted me not to hurt her on purpose. Now I have. Am I so desperate to win this fight with Voldemort that I disregard how much pain I cause the people who help me? When does it change from pushing each other to abuse, I feel like I'm only a step away from the path Voldemort walks."

"We all have the option of leaving you, Harry. Hermione and Ron know your heart. They might both be upset, but they will forgive you. You did not realize the depth to which your attack would affect Hermione."

"I should have, Gin, how can I know her like I do, and not realize what that would do to her?" Ginny dropped her eyes from Harry's before replying.

"Harry, you have now reached the level of torment that I have been in ever since you showed me the first prophecy. You must find a way to accept what you have to do. Maybe you should have known how much it would hurt Hermione. But that does not change that you needed to find a new way to fight."

"I could have told her, warned her that I was going to do something different, Gin." Ginny sighed she had to tell him at least part of the truth.

"Harry, The three of us came up with a new way to fight you." Harry looked at Ginny in shock. "A way that might help you fight Tom when the time comes. We all decided not to tell you, because if Tom got in your head he could find out the secret and then it would be useless to you. Hermione is the person who volunteered to test the method on you. If you could have found the strength to beat her the old way, simply by outlasting her, then we knew you would be taking a huge leap forward in the fight against Tom. Instead you found a new way to fight against her. What happened today is as much our fault as it is yours."

"What did you come up with?"

"We're not going to tell you. When the time comes to use it; it is very easy to do. In the meantime, you must go back to fighting against us the old way. You must build your strength and simply fight through the emptiness that Hermione, Ron or I erect against you."

"Ginny please?..."

"No, Harry, and you must promise not to try to find it in our minds, or look in our pensieves. You ask yourself if you abuse us, say that you are a step away from the path Tom is on. We ask the same questions when we look at you." Harry closed his eyes against the pain in his heart.

"Ok, Gin, I promise." Harry held Ginny close to him for a long time, gathering the strength to tell Hermione that he had betrayed her trust. Finally he took a deep breath and walked over to Ron and Hermione's bedroom door and knocked softly on it.

"Mione, Ron, may I come in?"

"The door is open, Harry," Ron called to him. Harry took another deep breath and turned the knob. Ron was sitting on their couch with Hermione lying on his lap. She was turned with her face buried in his stomach, her arms wrapped tightly around him. Ron was running his fingers through her hair. Harry felt the bile in his stomach surging again. He stood in the doorway watching them quietly not daring to approach her or Ron.

"Mione?" Hermione sat up Harry could see her wiping her face before she turned to look at him. The puffiness of her face gave away that she had been crying this whole time.

"Mione, I'm sorry," Harry whispered. Hermione got up and started to walk to Harry.

"Harry it wasn't your fault that…."

"No, Hermione, don't come any closer until I have finished." Hermione stopped halfway to Harry, a puzzled look on her face.

"Harry, it wasn't…." she tried again.

"It was, Mione. I gave you that memory on purpose." Harry interrupted her, his voice barely above a whisper looking at the floor while he spoke.

"What did you say?" Hermione asked him quietly, her breath sucking in. Harry forced himself to look up and meet her eyes. She was biting her lip, like she always did when she was trying to control herself. Harry saw her shiver slightly.

_All we can do is apologize,_the voices urged him.

"Mione, you were so strong, I knew you would beat me, so I tried to attack you by retreating. I found a memory that we had in common. One that I thought would upset you, weaken you….hurt you, and I let you think you had found a way into my mind….When what I was doing was tricking you, so I could attack when you were overwhelmed by the emotions you would feel." Harry paused a moment. Hermione was holding herself now, visibly trembling. Harry felt tears freely flowing down his face. "I'm sorry I betrayed your trust," he finished. Hermione watched him carefully for a minute, before she turned away from him.

"Harry, I think you better leave," she said quietly.

"Yes, Mione." Harry glanced at Ron. "I'm sorry, Ron." He then quickly turned and left the room.

Ron crossed the room and took Hermione in his arms.

"I'm sorry, Mione, this is all my fault. I should never have let you be the one to test this; I should have done it myself." Hermione turned on him.

"Why, so he could have found some way to hurt you instead?" she hissed at him.

"Yes!" Ron replied almost yelling at her. The force of his answer stopped Hermione for a second.

"Mione, he was desperate," Ron continued more calmly. "Did you see his reaction to what Ginny said yesterday when you beat him? He was near where you were an hour ago."

"And that excuses him in your mind," Hermione snapped at him. Ron couldn't stop himself from laughing at the irony of the situation.

"What, may I ask, is so funny?" Hermione demanded shaking in anger.

"That I am the one trying to get you to think with your head and not just your heart. It just seems to be quite a role reversal," Ron replied smiling at her.

"Ronald he hurt me, he tried to do it. I know we have been doing that to each other since we started this a few weeks ago, but this went beyond that. He went after the one thing….The worst possible memory he could have found. I had that buried so deep that I did not even remember it. If I had, then I would have put it in the pensieve." Ron sighed, he was trying to save Harry and Hermione's friendship, and he was failing.

"Even if you had, even if Harry had not given you that memory on purpose, you still could have come across it by accident. That was not a memory Harry had put in his pensieve and put back in his mind. He made a desperate decision in what he felt was a desperate situation.

"Mione, if you want to be mad at him, not forgive him, that is your choice, but we all know that it is Harry who has to win. You made the decision to kill me, when Harry would not defend himself. He just did the same thing to you. Remember when you decide what to do that we were the ones to escalate the fight against Harry. Harry has always responded when he had too. I wish with all my heart that he had not done that to you. That is why I should have been the one to test this, but we should have expected Harry to find a new defense against our attack."

Hermione sat down on the couch with her head in her hands, thinking about what Ron had said.

_He's right you know,_her first said quietly.

_What Harry just did to us, is hardly different than what we were going to do to Ron,_her third added.

_He chose to hurt me, so he would not feel the pain of Ginny's disappointment in him,_Hermione argued back at the voices.

_Then take off his necklace,_the voices snapped at her before they fell silent. Hermione stopped arguing, stunned by what the voices had said to her. She fingered the necklace that Harry had given her the night he had told her he loved her. She had not taken it off since he fixed the clasp around her neck the night she told him no.

_Where did you go?_Hermione asked after a minute.

_We have nothing left to say, we want to forgive him, have him wrap his arms around us and hold us. Did you see eyes when he apologized? We do not have to be in his mind to know he meant what he was saying. It was all he could do to even look at us. Hermione, he is out there right now afraid that he has lost you. Just like we felt Ron could not possible want us when we saw the memory._

Hermione didn't reply.

_If this had been the final battle, and Harry could win by throwing us away, what decision would you have him make?_

_I would die willingly,_Hermione snarled angrily at the voices.

_Then be glad he has shown he can, and pray that this doesn't weaken him to the point that he won't next time,_her second voice said quietly.

"You're right," Hermione whispered.

"What was that?" Ron asked quietly. He had been sitting on their bed watching her.

"I love him too much to turn my back on him. It's just not fair that I have to put him in front of you, because that is not what my heart wants, Ronald," Hermione said quietly.

"If it was just Harry, then I would agree with you, but we are talking about the world as we know it if you save me instead of Harry, can you live with that? I know I could never look at you again if I did that because I know you could never love anyone so selfish. Harry didn't do that just to save himself from Ginny. He did it so he could fight Voldemort, that trick may be what allows him to win." Hermione stood up and crossed the floor to Ron she pushed him back on the bed and lay down on his chest.

"Hold me for a minute, Love." Ron wrapped his arms around her, letting her melt into him. He held her for a short time, running his fingers through her hair.

"Go forgive him, Mione," Ron whispered to her.

Hermione knocked on the door to Harry and Ginny's room and not waiting for a response, she cautiously entered. Harry was sitting on his and Ginny's bed. Ginny was behind him just sitting with her hand on his back. She could see Harry's shoulders heaving, even though she could not see his face, she knew he was crying. Ginny turned to see Hermione, who walked across the room to the bed.

"I'll wait in the sitting area for you," Ginny said, getting up from the bed and closing the door behind her as she left. Hermione sat down on the bed and put her arms around Harry.

"Mione…."

"Hush, Harry, I accept that you are sorry. Accept my forgiveness," she whispered.

"You don't know how much you mean to me, Mione," Harry said his voice breaking.

"I think I do, Harry, because you mean that much to me. Have you ever noticed that I never take your necklace off? I wear it every day to remind me what your love is. I even asked Ron to never by me a necklace because I did not want to take this one off." Harry reached up and put his hand on hers.

"I have noticed, Mione. Ron doesn't mind?"

"Ron said that he already knew I would never take it off. That he had already decided he would never buy me a necklace." Harry turned to look at her.

"What did I ever do to deserve friends like you and Ron?"

"You're you, Harry," Hermione said taking his hands in hers.

"Thank you for loving me Hermione." Hermione flashed a smile at Harry, not the one she gave Ron, but it was one that Harry recognized as belonging to him.

"Come on, Harry. Ron and I are sleeping in the sitting area tonight. We would like it if you and Ginny did too." Harry smiled at her.

"Ok, Mione," he agreed, letting her lead him out of the room.

* * *

The warm sun shown brightly through the windows of the flat Harry and Ginny shared with Ron and Hermione. A gentle breeze blew across the room carrying the scents of summer on it. The peacefulness of it distracted Harry as he watched Ron, Hermione and Ginny move memories in and out of their pensieves. The three of them had been spending a lot of time doing this ever since the incident with Hermione four weeks ago. Harry didn't think it was possible, but he and Hermione were even closer now than before. Ron had not been mad at him at all. Instead he was angry at himself for putting Hermione in the position he did.

Harry had no clue what new defense they had come up with. It had taken him two weeks of training to get past Ron and Hermione after the first time they had used it on him. And even though he had finally done it, they had gotten stronger each time they fought. All of them were growing exponentially. And the defense of their minds, Harry's included, had begun to change.

No longer was it like standing in a white cloud as you tried to enter their mind. It had started, a few weeks ago, to turn grey and cold. Gradually becoming darker until it had turned black. The blackness had a suffocating weight to it. That Harry thought, felt like what it would be like to be buried alive. Being in their minds was like no longer like standing in a dense fog. And even that continued to grow in its heaviness. Ginny was the last test; it took him a week to beat her the first time. Harry had felt immense relief that it could not get too much harder to fight them. It was short lived.

After a week of successfully beating Hermione, Ron and Ginny whenever they fought, something had changed again. Yesterday, Hermione's mind had been beyond empty, she had fought him for seven hours before they had both quit. He had wondered if she had put every memory she had into her pensieve. He had also been surprised that Ginny was not upset; she seemed to have changed tactics with him since he had brutally attacked Hermione. She had merely told him to make sure he was not holding anything back because of the incident, if he was, then he would feel her wrath. Hermione and Ron had said the same thing. Harry shook his head.

He was glad it was his birthday tomorrow. They were going to take the day off, and play. The plan was to spend most of the day at the lake swimming or chasing each other around as lions. Harry was definitely looking forward to it. Ginny swore to him that there was no party this year, and Harry hoped she was telling him the truth. He just wanted to sit with his wife and two best friends and enjoy the time together.  
Harry watched Ginny put the last of a number of silvery strands from her pensieve back into her mind. She looked up and caught him watching her. Ginny smiled at him, but there seemed to be something wrong in it.

"What?" Harry asked her, puzzled by her apparent unease.

"Harry, we have to change how we are fighting against you again, you are not getting stronger any more." Harry groaned inwardly.

_This can't be good,_the voices said to him.

"Harry, I talked with Dumbledore yesterday, he said there were only two ways to push you further than we have," Ron said quietly. Hermione was twirling the contents of her pensieve. She appeared to be afraid to look at him.

"Well?" Harry asked quietly, when no one seemed to be willing to give him an answer. Ron sighed.

"One thing we can do is put all of our memories from the pensieves back in our minds. We will fight harder to keep you out, the more at risk we are. You will break through even that soon enough. It is not going to do much for you."

"I assume you are all going to do it anyways?" Harry replied feeling sick to his stomach.

"Yes, we all just finished getting ready for it," Hermione replied, finally looking at him. Harry noticed that there was still some silvery liquid in each of their pensieves." She caught his question before he asked it.

"These are not memories, so much as information that needs to be hidden from you until the time comes to fight Voldemort," she said quietly. Harry nodded at her.

"I understand. You mentioned a second thing you can do to teach me to reach deeper, find some way of tolerating more pain, Ron?" Harry saw Hermione look away from him again;  
he thought he saw her lip starting to tremble.

"Ron, please don't," Ginny whispered, her eyes starting to shine brightly. Harry looked at Ron expectantly; knowing the answer to his question had to be horrible if Ginny was not strong enough to face it.

"Well?" he asked.

"You can train against the _Cruciatus curse_," Ron answered him before turning away. Harry blinked but didn't say anything.

_How?_his first asked him.

_By separating our mind from our body,_a new fourth voice answered.

_Explain what you mean,_Harry said to the voice.

_It is similar to what we are doing with occulmency and legilimency. We are separating our memories from who we are, to block an outside force from seeing them. With this an outside force is sending pain at us, at our nerve endings. We need to be able to separate that sensation out, block it, or shunt it to a spot that dose not matter._

_What do you mean does not matter?_Harry's second asked.

_Well Harry could direct all the pain from the curse to me. I imagine that I would be in agony, but as long as he or you three maintain your sanity, once the curse stops, I should be ok. We should all be ok,_the fourth voice replied.

_You're insane,_the other three voices said together.

_Dumbledore would not have mentioned it if there was no way to fight it,_the fourth voice responded.

_There is a way to fight it, it's called a shield spell, you may have heard of it - Protego - and there is no pain,_Harry's third voice said in exasperation."

_Enough,_ Harry said. _There must be a way to tolerate the pain if Dumbledore suggested it._

_Fine! Just make sure if you try it, that you let him deal with the pain,_Harry's first three voices spat at him.

"How can I train against the curse when none of you are capable of correctly casting it at me?" Harry asked. If Harry could have seen their faces he would have noticed them all flinching.

"The first unspeakable from the DA meeting, the one who did all the talking," Ron said quietly, "Dumbledore will ask him to do it if we choose to train against it."

"What do you mean we?" Harry said angrily.

"You and I, Harry. I have suffered the same pain as you for the last year, longer even, that will not change now. If you train for this then I will too," Ron replied just as angrily.

"No you won't, Ron." Harry said keeping his voice calm and even. "I won't allow it."

"Yes we will, and you have no say in what we do, Harry," Hermione snapped at him. Ron and Harry turned on her, fighting with each other but united against her.

"Hermione, I forbid you to do this," Ron said angrily.

"I do too. Neither you nor Ginny will train against the _Cruciatus curse_."

"You may ask me not to do something, but you will not forbid me to do anything, Harry," Ginny interjected into the fight, her eyes blazing at him.

"Nor will you forbid me to do anything, Ronald," Hermione said quietly to him. Harry and Ron both stopped, very aware that they were dangerously close to pushing their wives too far. Harry opened his mouth to say something but stopped. Ron turned to him, and they looked at each other.

_**"Now what do we do?"**_Harry thought to Ron.

_**"I have no idea,"**_Ron replied.

"There must be some way to fight the curse. If there is, would either of you think to deny us the right to protect ourselves?" Hermione asked.

"Or would you prefer to visit us along with Neville's parents at St. Mungo's everyday for the rest of your lives," Ginny added. That got both Harry and Ron's attention.

"I am going to kill Dumbledore," Ron hissed venomously to no one in particular.

"Not if I get to him first," Harry replied kicking the chair in front of him across the room.

"You both know there is only one person to blame for this," Hermione snapped at them.

"And him, I am going to kill," Harry said his voice cold and emotionless. And this time Harry knew he had taken the final step. When the time came, if he had the knowledge, he would be able to kill Voldemort. The four of them stood there lost in their own thoughts for a minute or two.

"Did Dumbledore give you any ideas on how to fight the _Cruciatus curse_?" Harry asked Ron. They all listened while Ron answered the question.

_I told you,_Harry's fourth said to him.

_You're still going to be the one who gets to deal with the pain,_the other three voices replied.

_Whatever,_the fourth voice answered them.

"Ginny, I need to talk to you in mine and Hermione's room,"  
Ron said breaking into Harry's thoughts.

"Mione, why don't you and Harry go ahead with the occulmency for today. Let's exhaust that before we move to the _Cruciatus curse_," he added before closing the door on them.

* * *

Author's note:

I have already explained my thoughts on the unforgiveables in a previous author's note. Now you get to see how I think the cruciatus curse can be fought. Let me know what you think.


	6. Chapter 6: Happy Birthday

Please note the world of Harry Potter belongs to JKR. I'm only playing with her creation. Also the story image was a free download I found. Thank you to whomever it belongs. I will remove it immediately if asked.

* * *

Author's note:

As with, A Promise Kept and Harry Potter and the Blood Traitor, this is an older work that I am posting to help tide people over till my new works are ready. If I were to write this now, I would hit it with a pretty heavy editing hand. But I'm not writing it now and will be leaving it as is. Still, while it won't help this story, your comments will help my future work. So I will say it again, reviews are how you pay fanfic authors. I thereby challenge anyone who reads, like it or loath it to leave a review. I will do my best to respond to all signed reviews.

Also, I'm perfectly aware that with the title of the story and a quick google search you can find the whole thing. Certainly I can't stop you from doing so. Just know that I while I have not taken my works down from the old site, I no longer check anything there. If you want an answer to a question, you're going to have to contact me here.

Hope you like it.

Authors' note#2:

I suppose I should have expected this as my old work is going up. It was a very different life and more than five years since I said I was done with fan fiction. Now I'm back writing again. I'm on a new site with a new penname. A simple google search of the titles of my old work will direct you to mugglenet and the penname of huskers. So, I might as well say that yes, I use to post on mugglenet under the penname of huskers. Please read the bio there that directs you to find any new work as well as my old work here under the new penname of Sorcerer's Muse. Yes, I am one in the same. If you have any doubts that I am the same person and that all the work posted here is indeed mine, please go to mugglenet. Look up huskers' page and send an email with an appropriate code word of your choosing. I will then post that code word on my profile here to prove that I am the same person. **Note, I will not post anything vulgar or inappropriate.**

As always, thank you for reading my work.

Sorcerer's Muse

* * *

**Happy Birthday**

* * *

Harry woke up on his birthday to find Ginny watching him again. She smiled brightly at him when he opened his eyes."

_**"Hello, Husband."**_The thought came into his head.

_**"How long have you been waiting for me to wake up?"**_

_**"About an hour,"**_Ginny replied. She smiled at him expectantly. Harry felt himself blushing.

_**"What?"**_Ginny asked.

_**"I have something for you. It's a dream though, and it is kind of embarrassing,"**_Harry replied.

_**"What?"**_Ginny asked again. Harry leaned over and whispered into her ear. Then lay back down in front of her.

_**"Show me,"**_Ginny whispered in his mind.

Harry let the memory come to the surface of his mind. Ginny latched onto it and a short while later she brought a memory of her own dream to the surface of her mind and they let them intermingle with each other. A while later, both breathing heavily with flushed faces, they retreated from each other's minds.

"Wow," Ginny said quietly, as she pushed him onto his back and lay with her chin propped on her fist on his chest. She giggled a moment later when his eyes met hers.

"I'm not sure, but is it possible to still be…you know, after that?" she asked. Harry's face burned red as she smiled up at him

"You have very interesting dreams, Mrs. Potter," he said grinning impishly at her.

"Me? What about you? You, prat," Ginny snapped playfully at him. Harry laughed and pulled her so she was completely on top of him.

"I don't know about you, but it is my birthday, and I'm going to have a lie in," he said as she settled into him.

* * *

Harry started awake a few hours later.

"Bridgette?" he whispered.

_**"Help me, Harry,"**_Bridgette called to him in his mind. Ginny woke up a second later.

"Harry, what's wrong?" she asked seeing the look on his face.

"It's Bridgette, Gin. Her voice is in my head, she says she needs help." Ginny jumped out of bed and pulled open a dresser drawer.

"How can she be in your mind?" Ginny frantically searched through her drawer.

"I don't know, Gin."

"What about Tom, do you feel anything from him?" Ginny asked as she pulled a chocolate frog card of Dumbledore out of the drawer.

Harry closed his eyes and focused his mind on Voldemort. He felt him, but without putting in a great deal of effort he could tell he was not going to get in. Voldemort had indeed learned from their last encounter. He had been training to be able to keep Harry out just like Harry had been training to get in.

_"Reveal!"_Ginny demanded, waving her wand over the card. "Go! Find Bridgette!" she ordered the photo of herself that was affixed to the back of the card. She then quickly started to get dressed.

"What are you doing, Gin?" Harry asked.

"What does it look like? Get up, go get Ron and Hermione," Ginny snapped at him. Harry jumped out of bed throwing on clothes as quickly as he could.

"Ginny!" Harry heard the picture scream at her.

"What?"

"She is with Neville, at his grandmother's house. Cho and Luna are there too, they are fighting a bunch of Death Eaters right now," the photo yelled at her frantically.

"Harry, take this card, get Ron and Hermione and go to the Headmaster," Ginny said, shoving it at him.

"What are you going to do?" Harry asked, scrambling to finish dressing.

"I'm going to help her," Ginny said quickly and before Harry could say anything she kissed him, transformed into her animagus and was gone in a flash of light.

Harry burst through the door to Ron and Hermione's room. Hermione screamed at the surprise.

"Bloody…."

"Shut up, Ron," Harry yelled at him. "Both of you get dressed, and get to Dumbledore's office as quick as you can." He then turned and ran out of the room.

"Fawkes, take this portkey to Ginny, she is at Neville's grandmother's house," Professor Dumbledore said, tossing the small broken globe to the phoenix, who disappeared a second later. He then raised his wand and shot a silvery substance out of it, which raced to the hospital wing.

"This day just got much worse," he remarked quietly to himself as he sent another silvery jet racing in the direction of St. Mungo's. Dumbledore then headed for the hospital wing himself.

Ginny apparated into the middle of a war zone. She stayed in her phoenix form assessing the situation. Neville was down, along with his grandmother. Luna and Cho were caught in a binding spell. Cho was screaming in agony, obviously under the effects of the Cruciatus curse. Luna was slumped over next to her. Bridgette, her head held up by a Death Eater, was being forced to watch. There were five Death Eaters in their long black hooded cloaks and white masks still standing, and what looked like four or five who were down and possibly dead.

Ginny was nearly as smart as Hermione, she spent almost as much time in the library, and she spent even more time sneaking into the restricted section. She was easily as creative, and was much more powerful. If she lived through the war, she would easily become the most powerful witch to have ever lived, and might even rival Merlin himself. These junior Death Eaters. Even now, still a few days shy of her sixteenth birthday; they were nothing to her.

Ginny changed forms and attacked, hitting the Death Eater who was cursing Cho with a stunning spell that had the power of a bolt of lightning; it threw him fifty yards across the open field. The other death eaters turned on her.

They were the first to actually pay the price of the full fury of the third friend named in the second prophecy. Dumbledore had only gotten a taste, a few more blasts from Ginny and he would have been forced to actually fight back.

Ginny cast a phoenix spell that split and raced to protect each of the five people she was here to fight for, leaving one to defend her. Stunning bolts, each growing in power, flew from her wand hitting the Death Eaters who were already lying on the ground, ensuring that none of them would get up during the battle with the remaining four. Wands flew to her from their motionless forms, disintegrating into powder as the crushing spell hit them.

With the first spell cast at her, she conjured a shield like the one Voldemort had used to deflect the blast from Dumbledore in the Ministry last year. But Ginny had modified the shield. The spell hit with the same ringing gong, but instead of deflecting off in a random direction, it reflected back at the Death Eater who had cast it. He fell to the ground in a heap.

Ginny did not know it but he was dying, and no Healer, or Muggle doctor could have saved him. The spell he cast, the same one used on Hermione in the Ministry fight. A horrid dark curse _Eviscerate_, that when it struck Hermione had been weakened because the man could not speak the incantation to the curse.

Hermione had been lucky, the curse only slightly damaging her internal organs. This Death Eater was not; the full force of the curse hit him and shredded his internal organs as if they had been put through a meat grinder. Blood was burbling out of his mouth before he hit the ground.

The other three Death Eaters, already forgetting that Bridgette's phoenix stopped the death curse, tried to use it on Ginny. Their spells were immediately devoured by her phoenix, which split into three to take the incoming bolts.

Ginny dissaparated as the death curses raced to her and reappeared directly behind the Death Eater who had been holding Bridgette's head up. Her phoenix flashed to be near her.

Ginny's stunning bolt hit the Death Eater from less than a foot away. She was thrown forward slamming her head into a tree, crushing her skull and breaking her neck. Ginny spun on the other two death eaters, wrapping them in an anti-apparation spell. Their wands were ripped from their hands and disintegrated in the air halfway to her, their mouths sealed shut; they could not even cry out for their master to save them.

Ginny turned around in a circle releasing Cho and Luna from the binding spells, catching them with a levitation spell before they fell to the ground. She surveyed the area. Nothing was moving except her.

Suddenly she heard the sound of a phoenix singing. Fawkes flew into view and dropped the portkey into her hand. The bird floated in front of her. Ginny's eyes met those of the phoenix and Dumbledore's voice thundered directly into her mind.

_**"YOU RISK THE WORLD WITH YOUR RASHNESS. GATHER ANY YOU CAN, HIT THE PORTKEY WITH YOUR WAND AND LEAVE THIS INSTANT."**_

Ginny was astounded, fuming mad, but moved anyways. She quickly summoned all four of her friends, and Neville's grandmother to her, made sure they were all touching the portkey and tapped it with her wand. Fawkes watched her tap the portkey and dissaparated again.

Ginny had left Harry in their bedroom less than five minutes ago.

Moments after Ginny and Fawkes left the field, a tall skeletal figure appeared in a whirling of its cloak.

"Where did she go!?" he roared. Peter Petigrew scurried forward to his master. He had hidden throughout the fight, watching the battle for the Dark Lord, looking to see if one of the four he sought would come to the aid of any that were attacked this morning.

"Master," Peter sniveled, cowering on the ground in front of him after changing to his human form, "I did as you asked. Please do not punish me," he begged the Dark Lord.

"Answer me servant," Voldemort hissed at him.

"Master, I do not know. She summoned the bodies of the five that we attacked and they all disappeared seconds before you arrived."

"Look at me, Wormtail," Voldemort said in his icy voice.

"Master, please."

"You did as I asked, Wormtail, you have nothing to fear unless you lie, now look at me." Peter slowly raised his eyes to the Dark Lord, and the memory of that morning's battle was ripped from his mind.

"How did she get here, Wormtail?" The calmness of the question belied the danger that Wormtail was in right now. Voldemort lived in a state beyond anger and hatred and now, pure evil oozed from his body. She had obviously used a portkey to escape, but how she had arrived, Peter had not seen unless he was lying or hiding something from him.

"Master, you have seen my mind, I did not see her arrival. I only knew she was here when the first stunning bolt hit Flint." A small smile played across Voldemort's mouth.

"You are right, Wormtail, your worthless mind could not hope to hide anything from me." Voldemort summoned his servants to him.

"Are any of them alive, Wormtail?"

"Master, only the two she bound in the anti-apperation spell," Peter answered cowering before him after checking on the others. Voldemort looked at the two young Death Eaters before him.

"You have failed me, do not speak," he hissed at them dangerously as he released the spell sealing their mouths shut. "You are lucky I want to hear you scream for mercy instead of allowing you to starve to death." Wormtail began to relax slightly now that Voldemort's attention was directed elsewhere. The two Death Eaters, however, began to shake violently at his words.

"Come Wormtail we must leave. The Aurors are on their way, Voldemort dissapparated taking Wormtail and the two surviving Death Eaters with him.

The Aurors appeared moments later, finding the fight over, they began to gather the bodies of the dead, trampling the strange silvery worms into the ground beneath their feet as the searched the area, eight in all were found.

Harry ran like he had never run before. He reached the stone Gargoyles shouting the password at them. They turned to him, but the stairs did not rotate.

"WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU!?" Harry thundered at them

"He is in the hospital wing," the gargoyle on the left answered.

"Wh….What?" Harry stammered, and then when the words registered in his mind he turned and ran back the other way, slamming into Ron as he rounded the corner. They crashed to the floor together, Harry scrambled back to his feet, and without stopping to help Ron up he was gone again, only just registering Hermione as he went by her.

"Harry!" she screamed at him.

"Hospital wing, Ginny," Harry yelled back at her as he rounded another corner. Hermione skidded to a stop and turned to follow him.

"What did he say?" Ron demanded, as he caught up to Hermione grabbing her hand and pulling her along with him.

"Something about the hospital wing and Ginny," Hermione replied frantically. She suddenly found herself moving even faster.

Harry burst through the doors of the hospital wing looking around desperately for Dumbledore.

"Sir, I need a portkey!" Harry yelled as he raced up to him. Though he was anything but calm, Dumbledore mastered himself.

"Calm yourself, Harry. Your wife will be here shortly," he replied as he stroked Fawkes's tail feathers.

"What?" Harry stopped.

"Sir I have to go…."

"Harry, what in the bloody hell is going on!?" Ron yelled bursting through the doors.

"Where is Ginny?" Hermione demanded. Harry spun around to face them, just as Ginny arrived with her five casualties, crashing into Ron and Hermione and sending everyone tumbling to the floor.

"Ginny!" Harry yelled running to her and pulling her from the floor.

"I'm ok," Ginny quickly said to him before he could go any further over the edge than he was. Ron and Hermione managed to extract themselves from the mess of tangled bodies and get to their feet.

"Ronald, Hermione, quickly get them on the beds. There is not much time." Dumbledore said forcefully to them. He did not even try to get through to Harry or Ginny. It took Ron half a second to figure out that the people around his feet were severely injured. He and Hermione quickly began to levitate them onto the hospital beds. A few moments later several other people arrived by portkey in the hospital wing. Harry was vaguely aware of Professor McGonagall rushing past him into the hospital; closing the doors behind her as one of the other new arrivals dragged him, Ron, Hermione and Ginny into the waiting area just outside. He rounded on them all a second later.

"Ginevra Potter, if what the headmaster has told me is true, that was quite possibly one of the bravest acts I have ever heard of…. It is also quite possibly the stupidest." Harry blinked in surprise. He had only seen Remus Lupin this angry once in the four years he had known him. That was the time he rescued Harry from Professor Snape during his third year, he had confiscated the marauders map from Harry then and given him a tongue lashing he had thoroughly deserved.

"Now you four are all free to go anywhere you want, no one can stop you. I cannot order you to do this, so I am begging you, all of you, to not leave the castle for any reason other than Voldemort appearing in the hallway. Do I make myself clear?" The four of them stared at him in stunned silence

"Is that too much to ask of you?" he demanded.

"No, Professor," Hermione replied quietly.

"Good! Now you may either wait here, or in your flat. I will be with you whatever your choice. My instructions are to not let any of you out of my sight," he finished, glaring at Ginny, who having recovered from her shock at his outburst, returned his look with equal anger.

"We will be waiting here," she snarled at him.

"I thought so," Lupin answered his tone softening as he sat down. "Ginny, in a little while, you will, I hope, understand my anger. In the meantime please sit down I'm sure you are tired."

Harry pulled Ginny to one of the couches that lined the hallway outside the hospital wing. Ron and Hermione moved to join them and had only been sitting for a few moments when the doors to the hospital wing opened causing all five of them to jump back up.

"Bridgette is requesting to see the four of you. Remus, you may join them if you would like," Professor Dumbledore said to them. All of them noticed that there were tears on his cheeks.

"Sir?" Harry asked.

"She does not have much time. I am sorry, Harry." Harry felt his knees buckle. Remus caught him, Harry couldn't think, his head was spinning, and he felt his heart being ripped from his chest again. Just like the time Sirius fell through the veil. Ginny, Hermione and Ron were no better.

_She can't die on us,_the voices cried out in agony in Harry's mind.

"Harry, you must go see her," Remus said, breaking through the haze. "All of you, you must honor her request." Harry felt himself moving forward. He realized that Ginny was crushing his hand in hers as they moved through the doors to the hospital.

Ron and Hermione were in an utter state of confusion. No one had had time to explain to them what had happened yet. They only knew that Ginny had arrived by portkey in the hospital wing unharmed, but that she had brought five people with her.

One of them was Bridgette, a girl who had dated Harry, served as both Hermione and Ginny's attendant at their weddings less than two months ago. She was their closest friend after Harry and Ginny, and now they were being told she was dying.

Ginny followed along behind Professor Dumbledore as he led them to Bridgette's bed. Not registering that only two of the four other beds that had curtains up around them had healers working on the people in them.

Ginny moved into Bridgette's view. Bridgette's eyes were glazed but open, and when she saw Ginny they cleared slightly. She smiled weakly and raised her hand to her. Ginny gathered her strength and walked to her, taking her hand and moving to run her other hand through Bridgette's hair.

"Hi, Bridge," Ginny whispered to her.

"Gin, you would have been proud of me. I fought them," Bridgette said her voice barely a whisper.

"I know you did, Bridgette." Ginny replied smiling at her with tears flowing down her face. Bridgette almost laughed, but it turned into a choking cough.

"Bridgette, you can still fight," Harry said placing his hand on Bridgette's and Ginny's. Ron and Hermione had moved to the other side of the bed and taken her other hand.

"Don't give up yet, Bridgette. You can live through this," Hermione pleaded with her. Bridgette smiled at them.

"Look at the four of you, my big strong protectors, needing strength from me," Bridgette teased them. "You would have been proud of all of us. They attacked us but we fought. They tried to use the killing curse on me but I made my first _Phoenix charm_. Neville's Grandmother killed that one. I killed one of them. I think Luna got two of them and Cho killed one….By then they had taken Neville out. Luna and Cho got hit with the binding curse…." Bridgette started to cough again. She managed to stop and tried to continue.

"Shush, Bridgette. It's ok. We're proud of you," Harry stopped her.

"Harry?" Bridgette focused on him again.

"I'm here, Bridgette," Harry replied refusing to let his voice crack.

"Never forget me, Harry. The only place I can fight anymore is in your heart."

"Bridgette, please," Harry begged her.

"Hermione, you were beautiful in your dress." Bridgette said ignoring Harry. "Ronald, it will be your laugh that I miss the most….Ginny thank you for showing me a path and giving my life a purpose. The bastards never got a word out of me," she snarled forcefully.

"I love you, Bridgette," Ginny whispered, leaning down to lay on her chest. Bridgette pulled her hand away from Ron and Hermione to lay it on Ginny's head.

"I don't know how you got there Gin, but thank you for coming. I know the rest of you would have come if you could. I will be waiting for you when it's your time to come through the veil. Never forget me all of you."

"Never Bridgette," they all replied together. Bridgette smiled at them again.

"Harry?"

"I'm still here, Bridgette."

"Happy Birthday Harry." Bridgette whispered and then she closed her eyes for the last time.

Ginny felt her chest rise and fall a few more times, and then Bridgette stopped breathing. She tried to will Bridgette's chest to rise again, she had done it with Harry, but it would not. A few moments later Ginny heard Bridgette's heart stop beating. She then finally broke down completely along with Harry, Ron and Hermione.

* * *

Author's note:

War is hell, people die.

Please take a second to remember all the men and women who have died so you could live free.


	7. Chapter 7: The Healer

Please note the world of Harry Potter belongs to JKR. I'm only playing with her creation. Also the story image was a free download I found. Thank you to whomever it belongs. I will remove it immediately if asked.

* * *

Author's note:

As with, A Promise Kept and Harry Potter and the Blood Traitor, this is an older work that I am posting to help tide people over till my new works are ready. If I were to write this now, I would hit it with a pretty heavy editing hand. But I'm not writing it now and will be leaving it as is. Still, while it won't help this story, your comments will help my future work. So I will say it again, reviews are how you pay fanfic authors. I thereby challenge anyone who reads, like it or loath it to leave a review. I will do my best to respond to all signed reviews.

Also, I'm perfectly aware that with the title of the story and a quick google search you can find the whole thing. Certainly I can't stop you from doing so. Just know that I while I have not taken my works down from the old site, I no longer check anything there. If you want an answer to a question, you're going to have to contact me here.

Hope you like it.

Authors' note#2:

I suppose I should have expected this as my old work is going up. It was a very different life and more than five years since I said I was done with fan fiction. Now I'm back writing again. I'm on a new site with a new penname. A simple google search of the titles of my old work will direct you to mugglenet and the penname of huskers. So, I might as well say that yes, I use to post on mugglenet under the penname of huskers. Please read the bio there that directs you to find any new work as well as my old work here under the new penname of Sorcerer's Muse. Yes, I am one in the same. If you have any doubts that I am the same person and that all the work posted here is indeed mine, please go to mugglenet. Look up huskers' page and send an email with an appropriate code word of your choosing. I will then post that code word on my profile here to prove that I am the same person. **Note, I will not post anything vulgar or inappropriate.**

As always, thank you for reading my work.

Sorcerer's Muse

* * *

**The Healer**

* * *

****Harry stood at the side of Bridgette's bed, the pain of her death coursing through him. The last words she spoke were to wish him happy birthday, they reverberated in his head. Harry wanted nothing more than to never have another birthday again. It would mark the day of her death for the rest of his life. He knew that Voldemort had picked this day on purpose.

Harry looked at Bridgette's face. She seemed to only be sleeping, just like Ginny had for four weeks not so long ago. He could feel her hand in his, but where Ginny's had always had something in it to indicate she was there, somewhere, just looking for a way to come home. Bridgette's was dead; already the heat of her life was fading from it. Harry shook his head, regaining his senses and gently pulled Ginny away from Bridgette. She turned into his embrace clutching at his shirt, her tears soaking through it as he held her.

He looked around at the other beds in the hospital, taking in the scene in front of him. Ron and Hermione huddled together on the floor, as devastated as he and Ginny, Remus Lupin stood with tears in his eyes saying his last goodbye to Bridgette, Professor Dumbledore was trying to comfort Professor McGonagall. Bridgette and she had been close; she had shown a particular gift for transfiguration. All this pain and suffering, and he did not even know the condition of his other friends. His anger began to rise, replacing the pain in his heart. He knew he did not have the answer to end this yet, but there was a piece of his training that could begin. It did not have to wait. Harry pulled Ginny with him to Ron and Hermione.

Ron and Hermione looked up at Harry and Ginny. Harry could tell that Ron was seething with anger. Hermione, while she had tears in her eyes, was in much the same state. Ginny held her hand out to Hermione and Ron, and helped them get to their feet. Together the four of them walked to Professor Dumbledore. Ginny spoke for all of them.

"You find that Unspeakable, and you get him here." Her voice was a whisper, yet it carried more force than the noise of a hurricane.

"And if he is not capable of performing the curse, get Professor Snape. I'm sure he would love nothing more than to cast it at us," Hermione added, her own voice a whisper of command that only someone wishing to die would disregard.

Dumbledore surveyed them over his glasses. He had expected this, that they would all choose to train against the curse, but the level of motivation they had now was almost dangerous. These four students were the dream of any teacher. Not because they were gifted, but because they cared.

Each of them would have become powerful sorcerers under normal circumstances. Lesser people would have cracked under the turmoil that these four lived with. Instead they only got stronger, and they rallied people to them without trying. Dumbledore himself was continually amazed by each of them.

"You understand the danger of preparing for this, one second more than you are ready for, and you risk permanent damage to your minds," Dumbledore replied gravely to them. Harry was just about to respond to him when a blood curdling scream ripped through the hospital wing.

_"FINITE INCANTANUM!"_ A voice roared from behind one of the screens. The screaming ended an instant later. Professor Dumbledore bolted to the bed followed, closely by Harry, and the others.

"Is he alright?" Dumbledore demanded, of the Healers that were now moving to help their colleague who was lying on the floor.

"Yes, Albus, I will be alright," the man answered for himself, as he struggled to his feet. Harry took note that he was very old, probably as old as Professor Dumbledore. He also looked to be near exhausted.

"She however, will not be. Unless someone more capable than I, can find her before the rest of her brain shuts down," the man said. Harry looked to the bed quickly. Cho Chang was laying there, the same blank look in her eyes as Harry had seen in Neville's parents.

The debate raged in Dumbledore's mind.

_We could possibly do it,_ his second said to him.

_And risk death. We do not place our life before hers, but in this war, there is no doubt whom Harry needs more. We cannot take the chance to help her,_ his fourth replied.

_There is one who could, she has played her role,_ his first added quietly. Dumbledore turned to Hermione.

"Hermione," he said quietly.

"Yes, Headmaster?"

"All four of you and myself could possibly help her. It will be just like breaking into Harry, Ginny, or Ronald's mind. If you can get through her defense, and lead her to the surface she will be able to make a full recovery.

"But there is a difference. When you fight with Harry or the others, you have the choice to leave their minds before you are hurt or killed. If you attempt to enter Cho's mind, her defense will not let you leave by your choice. She will hold you until you free her, she kills you, or we extract you by force as was done with Healer Marchbanks. And the extraction is not always safe. In fact, it becomes more dangerous the longer you have been linked.

_Oh no he doesn't,_ the voices said in alarm in Harry's head.

_If anyone takes this risk, it will be us!_ Harry's second screamed at him.

"I'll try, Professor," Harry said, pushing Hermione out of the way.

"No, Harry, you will not," Professor Dumbledore said, stepping in front of him.

"Why not? I'm the strongest, and you know it," Harry replied angrily.

"Because you cannot be risked to save Cho's life," Dumbledore answered calmly. Ron's head was spinning through the prophecies, analyzing the role each of them had to play.

_Why is he talking to Hermione?_ he asked the voices.

_Because Harry must fight Voldemort,_ his second replied.

_We have not come up with the final plan yet,_ his third added.

_Ginny has yet to give us the key to victory,_ Ron added himself. _But Hermione has played her role she could be risked without damaging Harry's chances of defeating Voldemort._

_And why not Dumbledore?_ his first asked angrily.

_Because we need a teacher,_ Ron replied, closing his eyes in disgust.

"Harry, it does not matter that you are the strongest. Professor Dumbledore is fighting a war. You are his sword; he cannot risk you. I am the General, who has yet to give you a plan, he cannot risk me. Ginny holds the key to victory, which we have not found. She cannot be risked. Dumbledore is the teacher we all need, he cannot risk himself," Ron finished speaking. He had not opened his eyes the whole time, afraid that he would start crying. Hermione listened to Ron and she understood why Dumbledore had addressed her to begin with.

"But I have fulfilled my part in the prophecy," she said quietly. "I can be risked to save Cho." Harry had turned to look at Ron when he started speaking; he listened to Hermione finish the explanation, and saw Ron flinch when she spoke.

"You do not have to do this, Hermione," Ginny said quietly moving behind her and taking her in her arms.

"Yes, Ginny, I do," Hermione replied. Ron sank to his knees next to her holding his hands behind his head. Harry wanted to argue, but knew his friends and Dumbledore were right. He stormed away across the room, kicking a wastebasket in frustration. Hermione put her hand on Ron's shoulder. He reached up and took it in his. Pulling it to his lips, he kissed her fingers gently.

"Come back to me, Love," he whispered to her. Hermione placed her hand on the side of his face, lifting his eyes to hers.

"I promise, Ronald," she then turned and walked to Cho's bed, locking her eyes on Cho's she raised her wand to her. _"Legilimens!"_

The Cruciatus curse, like all methods of torture was used to inflict pain, stop, and then get information from a person too weak to resist or put up with more punishment. All methods of torture could push a person's brain to shut down, killing them because their brain refused to deal with the pain anymore.

Cho's brain had not quite reached that point. It had erected the only defense it could come up with, locking away who she was in one area of her mind and diverting the pain being inflicted on her to another part.

The problem with this was, unlike Hermione, or any other sorcerer who had developed different selves; Cho's mind was not capable of being broken in two. The part of her mind that had been forced to deal with the pain of the curse had no way of communicating with the part of her mind that retained who she was.

Cho did not know she was no longer being cursed. If someone could get past the barrier her mind had developed quickly enough she would recover. If it took too long to find her, her mind would not be able to meld into one again and she would be forever trapped in the defense she had created.

The strength of the protection erected by the person being tortured was a function of how long they had fought the curse without it. The Healers had underestimated with Cho, thinking she was too young to have fought more than fifteen to twenty minutes before her mind split. Based on that guess, they had allowed for Healer Marchbanks to spend an hour in her mind before they would forcibly extract him.

Cho had spent a total of almost seventy minutes under the effects of the Cruciatus curse before the split occurred. This miscalculation had resulted in Cho completely draining the Healer in less than half an hour. Only his scream had let the other Healers know that he needed to be saved before their estimate.

"Albus, this girl cannot possibly hope to get through what I did not," Healer Marchbanks said stepping next to Hermione. "She must not be allowed more than ten or fifteen minutes in her mind. Ron and Harry forced their way between the Healer and Hermione, each gently touching her on the back. Ginny had moved near Cho's head and was whispering softly into her ear.

Harry interjected himself into the discussion. "Tell me what you saw?" Healer Marchbanks looked at Harry and Ron in astonishment at being forced out of the way.

"Who do you think you are?" He demanded of Harry. Harry returned his glare.

"Next to her husband I am the best friend this girl has," Harry shot at him. "Now tell me what you saw in Cho's mind." Healer Marchbanks turned to Dumbledore.

"Albus this is crazy."

"David, answer the question," Dumbledore replied forcefully.

"Albus, I saw nothing, no thoughts, no memories, a blank slate," he replied in exasperation." Harry groaned to himself.

_The best way to get the information would be to see the memory,_ the voices said to Harry.

"Healer Marchbanks, may I look in your mind?" Harry asked quietly.

"Why?"

"I want to see what you saw when you were in Cho's mind, I want to know what you felt. I will then be able to tell you how long Hermione can stay in Cho's mind before she must be taken out."

"How will that tell you? Miss Chang is draining energy like nothing I have ever seen, beyond what your Headmaster has ever done to me when helping me train for this."

"Then look in my mind and tell me if Cho is stronger than I am," Harry replied. Healer Marchbanks looked at him in exasperation.

"Son, I know who you are, but you cannot honestly think you are stronger than your Headmaster. Only the great trauma Miss Chang has suffered has allowed her to erect such a powerful defense."

"David, we run out of time to save two lives, what can it hurt to do what Harry asks you?" Dumbledore said him. The Healer looked at Professor Dumbledore shaking his head.

"Very well, we will look in each other's minds together," he said turning back to Harry and raising his wand.

"I need you to let me see your memories of being in Cho's mind," Harry replied as they locked their eyes on each other.

"You're forgetting your wand, Harry."

"I don't need it," Harry answered, his mind registering the surprise on the Healer's face at his statement.

"Shall we then?" Healer Marchbanks asked. Harry nodded at him.

_"Legilimens!"_ they said together. Harry saw the memory of Healer Marchbank's time in Cho's mind. He concentrated every once of his energy on understanding the feeling, the rate at which Cho had taken the Healer's strength from him.

David Marchbanks, for the second time that day was completely overwhelmed. Cho's mind had been a solid white wall, the best defense he had ever come across. He had known the moment he entered her mind that he would never last the hour that had been allotted. He had spent the whole time trying to get out. Where his scream of terror had come from he did not know. No one had ever been able to give such an obvious indication of a need for help.

Harry's mind by comparison was not a white wall. It was black, as black as the deepest cave at the bottom of the deepest ocean. A darkness that it appeared had never seen light. Unless Harry chose to let him, he would never in a thousand years penetrate it. If he did not leave Harry's mind quickly, he would be dead in a few minutes. Nevertheless, he attempted to stay as long as he could.

"Thank you, Healer Marchbanks," Harry said, as he released him and pulled himself out of the Healer's mind.

"You're welcome….I think," he replied, as he collapsed into a chair that Professor Dumbledore had set behind him. Harry turned over in his mind what he had felt while in the Healer's mind. Cho's defense was strong. Hermione, if she was strong today, could beat it. Today, however, was not turning out to be a normal day, Harry looked at his watch. It was only 11:30 am. Harry could hardly believe that he and Ginny had peacefully shared their minds with each other less than four hours ago. Hermione was either going to be weak from the rest of the day's events or she would take new strength from it.

_If she can't break through, and we let her go too long, we lose both Cho and Hermione,_the voices said to him.

_We owe Cho as much time as Hermione can stand,_ Harry replied to them.

_We know that Hermione fought us for seven hours yesterday before we both quit. And that we are stronger than Cho,_ his first said to him.

"Ron, is Hermione using the new defense you came up with right now?" Harry asked. Ron blinked in surprise at the question.

"No, Harry. She is not."

"Does that defense help you to stay in my mind, or only make it more difficult for me to stay in yours?"

"It only makes it more difficult for someone to attack us," Ron replied. Harry fell silent again.

_If she is staying in Cho's mind the same way she stays in ours, then she should have at least seven hours,_ Harry said to the voices.

_Do we give her any more time?_ his second asked.

_No_ Harry replied. He got no arguments from the voices. Harry looked to Professor Dumbledore and Healer Marchbanks, who was drinking a pepperupper potion.

"Hermione will need to be extracted after seven hours in Cho's mind, regardless of whether she is successful of not. Healer Marchbanks, along with the other Healers who had gathered round them, just stared at him. Professor Dumbledore surveyed him over his half-moon glasses.

"Very well then, Harry. She has six hours and forty-nine minutes left. Let us hope it is enough," he said quietly.

"So now we wait?" Harry asked.

"We will watch, in fifteen minute shifts. Two people each, in case you have made a mistake and Hermione is able to give us some indication that she needs to be helped before her time is up," Dumbledore replied gravely.

"What of the others who were injured?" Harry asked.

"We will discuss that later; neither Hermione nor Cho can afford to be disturbed by what they might or might not hear." Harry nodded at Dumbledore and moved behind Ron.

"I cut the time short. Cho is already gone; I won't lose them both by letting her stay too long," he whispered. Harry did not see Ron close his eyes.

"Thank you, Harry," he whispered in reply.

_Well, at least it's not black in here,_ Hermione's second remarked upon first entering Cho's mind.

_Quiet,_ Hermione snapped. _We only have so much time in here before they pull us out, and the longer it takes to find Cho, the harder it will be to bring her back._

_How do we bring her back when we find her?_ her third asked.

_Show her Neville,_ her second said. _From that time when we were hunting and she was sitting by the lake with his head in her lap._

_It's a start,_ Hermione replied. _Now help me find her._

Harry sat down in the chair in front of Hermione, his wand delicately balanced in his hand. They may have been on fifteen minute shifts, but he, Ron and Ginny never left. Ron had been standing behind Hermione, his hand on her back the whole time. He had not moved in five hours. Ginny was constantly whispering in Cho's ear telling her to come back, that she was safe. Harry had been staring at Hermione's face. She had twitched once an hour ago, and now her face was starting to show the first signs of the effort she was putting out.

Harry glanced up as the Healers changed shifts. Healer Marchbanks had moved behind him half an hour ago. He had not moved since. Dumbledore had had to go out in the hallway when Cho's mother arrived. Harry was surprised that he had not brought her back in with him. He was now standing in a corner with Professor McGonagall, quietly discussing something. His eyes however, never left Hermione's face. Harry moved his eyes back to Hermione.

"Come on, Mione," he said barely above a whisper. "You're running out of time." Healer Marchbanks leaned in close to Harry's ear.

"There are records of Healers who could do what your friend is doing, but none have lived for hundreds of years," he whispered quietly. "Is her mind as black as yours?"

"Yes," Harry whispered back to him.

"And she can penetrate into yours?"

"Not since it turned black two days ago."

"And can you penetrate into hers?"

"I don't know. I quit trying after seven hours yesterday." Even though he could not see him, Harry could feel the man's shock.

"You and she fought each other for seven hours yesterday and she has the strength to do it again today?"

"Yes."

"And your other friends? You said she was married, I assume that is him behind her.

"He is her husband. The woman whispering in Cho's ear is my wife. If you attempted to enter their minds, you would find them black also," Harry replied. Harry felt the Healer sit back in his chair again.

David Marchbank's mind reeled. He was an accomplished Healer, one of the greatest of his generation. He had been friends with Albus Dumbledore since they attended Hogwarts together, and had always thought that he would never see a more powerful sorcerer in his lifetime. He now looked at four in the same room who had the potential to exceed him.

Hermione was not really sure how long she had been in Cho's mind. Time became lost when you did this. She and Ginny had always timed how long each training session took, letting each other know afterwards how long the fight had lasted. And they had charts upstairs in their flat that tracked the progress of all four of them.

Hermione was just beginning to feel the strain of the attempt. She had dug deep into Cho's mind. The wall between them was weakening, and she had just brushed a very powerful, recent memory that she was now trying to latch onto.

_**"Come on, Cho. It's Hermione. I'm here to help you,"**_ she pushed her thought to Cho.

Cho did not know what had happened to her, only that she had been in complete agony from the effects of the Cruciatus curse one moment, and that the pain was gone the next. She did not think she was dead, but did not seem to be in her body.

Cho could not see, unable even to distinguish if it was light or dark. She could not feel or taste the saliva in her own mouth. In the deathly quiet, she should have been able to hear her heart beating.

People never notice that they smell themselves all day, the odor not really registering, until it is gone, and then the sense of loss is devastating. Cho had absolutely no sensory perception at all, and being without it was maddening.

Ron opened his eyes and looked at his watch. He moved around in front of Hermione, blocking the view the others had of her face. Hermione was biting her lip, screwing her face up in concentration. He studied her, comparing how she looked now to all the other times Harry had released her just before she collapsed. He turned to Professor Dumbledore.

"There are only fifteen minutes left, she can go longer," he said to him.

"She is your wife, Ronald," Dumbledore replied. Ron turned back to Hermione. Harry moved next to him.

"Ron, she has done enough," he whispered. Ron did not answer.

Hermione felt the turmoil beneath what was left of Cho's wall. She knew she had to be cautious. Cho could latch on to her like a drowning swimmer does to their rescuer. If she was not careful they would both drown.

Hermione separated her memories finding anything that she could remember about Cho that was happy, burying everything that was painful to her, or would be to Cho. Cho had to have a reason to connect to her feelings again, if she sensed any pain, Hermione knew the wall would go back up and she would most likely never be able to get through it again.

The healers started to move in to break the spell and extract Hermione from Cho's mind.

"Not yet," Ron said quietly. They stopped, looking for instruction from someone.

"Ron," Harry said quietly.

"Not yet," Ron repeated. David Marchbanks considered the situation. He could not be responsible for the death of both girls, but he had been in both Cho's and Harry's mind. Harry was much stronger, so much that he could hardly fathom it. And this girl, Hermione, could fight him for seven hours, without falling to him. Harry must have given her seven hours because he knew she would be safe.

_If her husband says she can fight longer we should trust that for now,_ the one voice that lived in David Marchbanks mind said to him.

"We will wait, let her stay," Healer Marchbanks said to the other Healers.

_We're ready,_ the voices said to Hermione. Hermione took a deep breath and reached out to the most powerful memory she could feel coming from Cho. She caught a flash of it and then let her memories flood into Cho.

Cho grasped at them pulling them into her mind. There was light coming from something, and then she heard a voice.

_**"HERMIONE!?"**_ she screamed.

"Her hand twitched," Ginny gasped. Healer Marchbanks whirled.

"Keep talking to her. Tell her to follow your voice," he commanded.

"Bring her back, Love," Ron whispered into Hermione's ear. Harry noticed the slightest hint of a smile play on Hermione's mouth.

_**"I'm here, Cho,"**_ Hermione called to her.

_**"WHERE?"**_ Cho's voice came back frantically to Hermione.

_**"I can't come any closer Cho. You have to come the rest of the way to me,"**_Hermione replied.

_**"NO, IT WILL HURT!"**_ All that Cho could remember of connecting with where Hermione's voice was coming from was the pain of the Cruciatus curse.

_**"I promise you it will not hurt, Cho,"**_ Hermione answered.

_**"I don't believe you. You're trying to trick me, you're not Hermione. I won't let you hurt me anymore….And I will never tell you anything about Harry!"**_ Cho screamed at her.

_**"Harry is waiting to see you, Cho. He is here with me. All you have to do is come to me."**_ Hermione could hear Ginny's voice speaking in Cho's mind.

_**"Listen, Cho, Ginny is here too."**_ Cho did not respond for what seemed like a long time. Hermione felt her emotions moving closer to the surface.

_**"I don't trust you."**_ Cho's voice rang in the void.

_**"I won't hurt you, Cho,"**_ Hermione replied, and then she pushed her memory of Cho and Neville by the lake to Cho.

_**"How do you know that?"**_ Cho asked guardedly. Hermione pushed her memories of the first time she assumed her animagus form to Cho.

_**"Ron and I were playing in the woods that day too,"**_ Hermione said quietly. It was quiet for a long time again.

_**"You and Ron are the lions that were living in the woods?"**_ Cho asked cautiously. Hermione could feel her moving closer still.

_**"Yes."**_

_**"I can hear Ginny."**_

_**"She is waiting for you to wake up,"**_ Hermione replied.

_**"Where am I? I don't want to hurt anymore. I can't take it,"**_ Cho whispered to her.

_**"You are in the hospital wing at Hogwarts, Cho,"**_

"She doesn't appear to be straining anymore," Harry said quietly as he studied Hermione's face.

"No," Ron agreed. "She looks like she does when she and I want to connect," he added a moment later.

"How often do you and she willingly connect?" Healer Marchbanks asked quietly.

"At least once a day, usually twice," Ron replied, not looking away from Hermione.

"I would say then that she has connected with Cho, and she is at least willingly talking with Hermione. If your wife starts to appear stressed again, things will deteriorate quickly. I would advise you to let us cut the connection immediately if that happens."

"You don't know my wife. I don't need Harry to tell me how long she can fight. I can tell by the look on her face when she has had enough. I have seen it dozens of times in the last six weeks. I believe we have hours, maybe even days yet if we need them," Ron replied.

"Ron, I don't want to lose both of them," Harry said.

"What would Ginny do to you if you pulled her out too soon?" Ron snapped at him. Harry blinked; his mouth flapped a moment before he recovered.

"Ok, Ron," he replied in defeat.

_**"If I'm in the hospital wing, then I'm hurt. It will hurt if I come to you,"**_ Cho said, her voice on the edge of panic.

_**"Cho, please you must trust me. The Death Eaters are gone. There might be a little pain but it will get better."**_

_**"No! You come with me; we can stay here, where it doesn't hurt."**_

_Arrghhh. This is like arguing with a two year old,_ the voices screamed at Hermione.

_Unless you have something helpful to say keep quiet,_ Hermione snapped at them.

_**"I can't come with you, Cho."**_

_**"Why not!?"**_

_**"Because I'll die, Cho,"**_ Hermione replied.

_**"I don't believe you,"**_ Cho said, her voice quivering.

_**"Cho, you must believe me. If you do not come with me, I will die and no one else will ever come to you again."**_

It was quiet for a long time. Hermione might have thought Cho had left if she could not still sense her just beyond the thin white wall that was separating who she was from actually being alive now.

_**"Cho, we're all waiting for you. You can hear Ginny, Harry is here, Ron, Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall."**_

_**"Where is Neville?"**_

Hermione flinched, this was going to be the final hurdle, and she did not have the answer.

_**"He is here, but I do not know if he is ok,"**_ Hermione replied.

_**"What about Luna, and Neville's grandmother, and Bridgette?"**_

_**"They are here too."**_

_**"And?"**_

_**"I don't know about Luna or Neville's grandmother….Bridgette is dead, Cho,"**_Hermione replied. Cho did not reply right away, but Hermione felt a new surge of emotion run through her, white hot anger.

_**"Hermione would never lie about something like that,"**_ Cho whispered.  
_**"Trust me, Cho."**_ Hermione felt the last of the wall go down between herself and Cho. She could see Cho standing in front of her.

_**"It doesn't hurt, Hermione."**_

_**"I'm happy, Cho,"**_ Hermione said. She then pushed Cho out of her mind and pulled herself away.

Hermione opened her eyes; she quickly kissed Ron on the forehead and moved past him.  
Cho opened her eyes to see Hermione moving towards her.

"Hermione?" she whispered as she enveloped her in her arms.

"I told you we we're waiting for you."

"Thank you, Hermione," Cho gasped before breaking down and sobbing on Hermione's shoulder. A second later Cho noticed Ginny and pulled her close also. Harry and Ron moved within range of Cho and she clutched them to her as well.

"Does anyone know if Neville is ok?" Cho asked timidly after a few minutes.

"He is sleeping," Professor Dumbledore replied kindly, as he laid his hand on her shoulder. "He will make a full recovery," he added a moment later. Cho let her breath out in relief.

"I already know about Bridg…." Cho choked on her name. "The others, what about them?" she whispered. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny all looked at Professor Dumbledore; they did not know the answer either.

Harry was not alone in thinking that he did not want to know. There were five beds with curtains around them. Only two of them had had Healers moving in and out of them all day, one was Cho's. The other, he, Ron, and Ginny had all seen Neville in it. Professor Dumbledore closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Harry did not need to hear the answer to know what it was.

"Luna and Neville's grandmother are dead," Professor Dumbledore said quietly. Harry's mind reeled. Even not looking at Ginny, their connection had grown so strong that he could feel her mind doing the same. They did not think it possible for this day to get any worse. They were both very wrong.

The doors to the hospital opened and he learned why Cho's mother had not been brought into the room while Hermione had been in her mind. She had a bandage over one eye, and her arm was in a sling. Harry found himself wondering where Cho's father was, and then not wanting to know the answer.  
Harry and the others moved to the side to let Cho's mother get close to her daughter.

"Baby you're alright?" her mother asked.

"I'm alive, Mum," Cho replied, flinching at the tightness of her mother's embrace. Her mother kissed her cheek.

"I'll take it baby," she whispered to her.

"Mum, you're hurt?" Cho said quietly.

"I'll be fine sweatheart," her mother replied quickly. "Rest now; close your eyes and sleep." Harry groaned inwardly and tried to move discreetly away from the bed. He did not like the way Cho's mother was avoiding answering Cho's question.

"Where is Dad, Mum?" Cho whispered.

"Sleep baby, you need to rest."

"NO!...I need to know where dad is," Cho replied, her voice trailing away as her mother cast her eyes to the floor.

"Professor Dumbledore," Harry said forcing himself to look away from Cho. Professor Dumbledore turned to him. "How many other attacks occurred this morning?"

Professor Dumbledore closed his eyes and sighed. He did not know where his strength was coming from this day. This was his third war. In the other two he had been the leader also, but he had fought with adults. This war he fought with four children as his weapon. Other children had flocked to these four and they were all now paying the price. Professor Dumbledore took a deep breath, and mustered what little resolve he had left this day.

"All houses of the DA members were attacked this morning, Harry," he answered. Dumbledore surprised himself at the strength in his voice.

"And?" Ginny asked her voice cold as ice.

"There are a number of other injuries and I believe four more deaths. The Minister and I will be speaking shortly and she will make a statement to the press after that.

"Who is dead?" Ron asked quietly. Dumbledore shook his head, not answering the question. Cho had watched this exchange of questions with growing terror in her heart. The Cruciatus curse did not compare to the fear she felt now.

"Mum, where is dad?" Cho whispered, her body beginning to shake.

"I'm sorry, baby," her mother replied as she took Cho in her arms. "I tried, but he made a portkey and shoved it into my hands," she whispered. "He sent me to find you." Cho could not reply. Her body shook as she started sobbing again. She reached towards Hermione trying to get her to come close enough for her to hang on to. Hermione and the others moved in and all of them held her until she cried herself to sleep.

Hermione stood up and looked around the room. Her eyes settled on Dumbledore and Healer Marchbanks.

"Headmaster, Healer Marchbanks, are there any others like Cho that I might be able to help?" she asked. Healer Marchbanks felt his stomach lurch.

"Even if there are, I cannot allow it. You have done too much already," he replied. Ron saw his wife's eyes flash in defiance.

"Headmaster, you will bring any that I might help. I am going to rest until they get here," Hermione replied ignoring the Healer. She then walked over and crawled into one of the empty hospital beds.

"Albus, you cannot allow this," Healer Marchbanks said turning to him in exasperation. "She must be exhausted."

"What would you do in her position David?"

"I….Well….Fine! She may help them, but she will enter their minds and be removed after one minute to tell us if she even thinks it is possible. She may then reenter and try to help if she thinks she can," the Healer replied angrily.

"I am sure that Hermione will find those terms acceptable," Professor Dumbledore replied. He then turned to Harry, Ron and Ginny.

"I must go meet with the Minister. I assume you three will be staying here?" Harry considered for a moment.

"I'm coming with you," he replied.

"Harry, the Minister has great respect for you, but unless you are ready to tell her everything, she will not allow you in the meeting."

"Harry, I do not wish for you to do that," Ginny said quietly.

"Stay with your friends, Harry. I will tell you anything you ask when I speak with the four of you later," Professor Dumbledore urged him.

"Please, Husband?" Ginny asked, placing her hand on his face. "Too many people know too much already." Harry looked at Ginny. He could see the fear in her eyes.

"As you wish," he said to her.

"David, take your Healers and go to your hospital. Bring any that Hermione might help." The Healer nodded to him.

"We will return shortly," he replied picking up a portkey and holding it out to the others. After they had gone Dumbledore turned to Professor Lupin.

"Remus, you are not to let any of them out of your sight."

"Yes, Headmaster," he replied.

_**"You three,"**_ Professor Dumbledore's voice came into Harry, Ron and Ginny's minds,_**"you now know the reason I ask you to not go help anyone. I beg you to remember your importance and realize that you might need to sacrifice someone in order to save the world."**_

"We will not leave," Ginny answered him out loud.

"Thank you," Professor Dumbledore replied and then he left the hospital.

Harry, Ron and Ginny had quit believing the day could not get worse. It wasn't even one day anymore, as it had started over twenty-four hours ago around 11:00 am July 31st, Harry's birthday. And it was now noon on August 1st. The healers had brought five members of the DA with them. Based on the strength of the defense in each mind, Hermione had started with the weakest and was moving to the more difficult cases. Alicia Spinet, Angelina Johnson, and Susan Bones had taken her about three hours each. Hermione was now trying to help Fred Weasley. George Weasley lay in the next bed, his eyes void of life, waiting for Hermione to help him if she could.

Hermione had assured everyone that none of the five were as bad as Cho had been, but the total of what she had been doing was showing before she even started to help Fred. Harry estimated that Hermione had been awake all but one of the last twenty-four hours. It had taken Hermione close to nine hours to save Cho, add nine more hours spent fighting to save Alicia, Angelina, and Susan, and now she was approaching five hours with Fred.

_Twenty three of the last twenty four hours spent in the mind of a person who does not want her there,_ the voices said in awe to Harry.

Harry did not reply. He did not want to think about what was going to happen if Hermione did not have the strength to help his older brothers.

Harry watched Hermione intently. He knew the look on her face, had seen it a number of times; if she was fighting Ron or Ginny she had maybe an hour left. He found himself mentally letting George go.

"There it is again," Ginny whispered to him, hope only just daring to enter her voice. Harry didn't know how Ron or Ginny were doing this. Neither one had shed a single tear over their brothers' condition. They had not tried to argue with the Healers when the order was determined for who Hermione would help first. Harry had not either, but he was unoffically adopted, he was sure they both had to be even more dead inside than he was.

Harry continued to watch Hermione. Each time she had managed to save someone, her mouth had exhibited the slightest hint of a smile anywhere from ten minutes to an hour before the injured person had woken up. The smile was back.

"Talk to him, Gin," Harry said quietly without taking his eyes off of Hermione. Her face had relaxed again, the only strain she was showing was from the effort she had put out, not from what she was doing now. It looked like at least one of the twins was going to make it.

"Hermione?" Harry turned to see Fred with his eyes open, confused but awake. Hermione sank to her knees on the floor.

"I'm ok, Love, just tired," Hermione reassured Ron as he caught her.

"Will you settle for me you, Prat?" Ginny said wrapping her arms around Fred.

"Ginny, Harry?" Fred said registering the two of them. "Hermione said Alicia and Angelina are ok?"

"Yes, they're ok," Harry replied taking his hand.

"And George?" he whispered.

"We don't know, Fred," Ginny replied as the Healers moved to take Fred to the main hospital wing. "You have to rest now, Fred. Hermione might be able to help him. Mum and Dad are waiting for you."

"Ginny, where is Hermione?" Fred asked urgently as his bed floated towards the door.

"I'm right here, Fred." Ron had helped Hermione to her feet again and she quickly walked over to his bed and took his hand. Fred grasped her hand tightly in his.

"Thank you, Hermione," he said.

"Go rest," Hermione replied to him. The doors closed behind Fred as the Healer moved him out of the room. Hermione turned around and walked to George's bed; she took her hand and opened his eyes.

"Mione, you don't have much left," Ginny said as she came up from behind her and wrapped her arms around her waist. Hermione raised her wand at George.

_"Legilimens!"_ she said firmly. Harry saw her face contort almost immediately. The healers moved in ready to break the spell.

"Not yet," Ron told them. "She has hours left." They eyed him skeptically.

"Son, I believe you when you say she has time left, but don't make a mistake because she is trying to help your brother," Healer Marchbanks said firmly from behind Ron.

"You don't have to worry. I won't lose both of them," Ron replied. Healer Marchbanks looked at the other Healers and shook his head at them.

"Wait for him to tell you," he said. Harry settled in behind Hermione his hand on her back. Ron stood in front of her, watching her face. Ginny moved to George's bed and began to whisper in his ear as she had done with Cho.

_I don't care what Hermione says about it being useless until he starts talking,_ her second said.

_Neither do I,_ Ginny replied. _Besides, there is nothing else to do,_she added. The voices did not answer.

Almost six hours later she was still doing it. Ginny was exhausted; so was everyone in the room. They all took their strength from the sixteen year old girl with the bushy brown hair who was not ready to quit. If she still had the strength to fight then they could also.

Harry moved in front of Hermione next to Ron. They stood shoulder to shoulder, each lightly touching one of her hands. They both had their wands out and ready in their other hand. Harry did not know how fast George was draining energy from Hermione. But her body language told him she was near finished, if she was fighting Ginny it would be over in less than ten minutes.

Hermione sank slowly to her knees. Ron and Harry went with her. The healers moved in again.

"We have time," Ron said to them.

"Son, please," Healer Marchbanks said.

"This always happens to her, we have a little more time," Ron replied. The Healers looked at each other trying to decide.

"Break it," Healer Marchbanks told them.

_"Finete incantanum!"_ the three Healers said together. Their wands however were dead.

"What in the name of Merlin?" they said together looking at their wands in surprise.

_"Accio Wands!"_ Harry summoned the Healers wands from their hands. "Sorry, but you better sit down or I will put you in a binding spell," he said to them.

"You're going to kill them both," the youngest healer hissed at Harry.

"Just wait, we have been doing this together for weeks now. Trust us to know when to pull her out," Harry told them. The three Healers glared at him but had no choice.

"It is your conscience," Healer Marchbanks finally replied turning away from them. Harry didn't bother to tell him that all of the past thirty hours were already there. His conscience would not be clear until Voldemort was dead. Even then he was not sure he would be free.

_There it is,_ Harry's second said ten minutes later.

"She's talking to him," Ron said quietly. Healer Marchbanks moved back behind Harry and Ron.

"Her record is perfect so far when she gets to this point," he commented. "Still, I would advise you to cut the connection if she starts to stress again."

"This time I will listen to you," Ron replied.

"Hermione?" Harry and the three Healers whirled to look at George.

"Love?" Hermione whispered.

"I'm here, Mione." Ron replied pulling her to him

"Did I get him?"

"Yes, Mione," Ron said picking her up off of the floor.

"Thank you God," Ginny gasped grabbing hold of George and finally breaking down in tears on his chest.

"Ginny?...Where is Hermione?" George asked urgently.

"She's ok, George," Harry said quietly as he hugged him.

"I need to see her," George said desperately.

"I'm here, George," Hermione said clinging to Ron for support. Alarm spread on George's face at her appearance.

"Are you alright?"

"I will be, George. I just need to rest. So do you," Hermione replied taking his hand.

"Thank you, Hermione," George said collapsing back on the bed.

"You're welcome, George." The Healers moved in to take George out to the main hospital.

"Love?"

"Yes, Mione?"

"Please take me to bed." Ron picked Hermione up and headed for the door.

"This way, Ronald," Professor Dumbledore stopped him. "You will be able to get to your flat without going through the mob out there."

"Thank you, sir," Ron replied turning to follow him. Harry and Ginny followed also.

"I will come see you in eight hours," Professor Dumbledore said to them when they reached the portrait of the fat lady.

"Yes sir, Harry, Ron and Ginny replied. Hermione was already sleeping in Ron's arms.


	8. Chapter 8: Aftermath

Please note the world of Harry Potter belongs to JKR. I'm only playing with her creation. Also the story image was a free download I found. Thank you to whomever it belongs. I will remove it immediately if asked.

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Author's note:

As with, A Promise Kept and Harry Potter and the Blood Traitor, this is an older work that I am posting to help tide people over till my new works are ready. If I were to write this now, I would hit it with a pretty heavy editing hand. But I'm not writing it now and will be leaving it as is. Still, while it won't help this story, your comments will help my future work. So I will say it again, reviews are how you pay fanfic authors. I thereby challenge anyone who reads, like it or loath it to leave a review. I will do my best to respond to all signed reviews.

Also, I'm perfectly aware that with the title of the story and a quick google search you can find the whole thing. Certainly I can't stop you from doing so. Just know that I while I have not taken my works down from the old site, I no longer check anything there. If you want an answer to a question, you're going to have to contact me here.

Hope you like it.

Authors' note#2:

I suppose I should have expected this as my old work is going up. It was a very different life and more than five years since I said I was done with fan fiction. Now I'm back writing again. I'm on a new site with a new penname. A simple google search of the titles of my old work will direct you to mugglenet and the penname of huskers. So, I might as well say that yes, I use to post on mugglenet under the penname of huskers. Please read the bio there that directs you to find any new work as well as my old work here under the new penname of Sorcerer's Muse. Yes, I am one in the same. If you have any doubts that I am the same person and that all the work posted here is indeed mine, please go to mugglenet. Look up huskers' page and send an email with an appropriate code word of your choosing. I will then post that code word on my profile here to prove that I am the same person. **Note, I will not post anything vulgar or inappropriate.**

As always, thank you for reading my work.

Sorcerer's Muse

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**Aftermath**

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Harry sat on the couch with Ginny next to him in the sitting area of their flat. Hermione was huddled next to Ron in the love seat across from them. Professor Dumbledore had finally taken a chair facing all of them after pacing around the room for a minute or two.

"To begin with, Mrs. Weasley," Professor Dumbledore stopped himself. Harry recognized the look in his Professor's eyes. He may have suffered huge losses and pain in the last two days, just as the four of them had, they even glistened with unshed tears, but even that could not completely bury the pride radiating from him.

"Hermione," he started again, "I may have given you….all of you, the impression that I find your life to be worth less than that of mine, Ronald's, Harry's or Ginny's….That is as far from the truth as it could be, few people on earth have as much right to live happy and free as you do.

"I don't really expect you to understand why I asked you to help Cho. I would not have been disappointed in you in the least if you had chosen not to. Cho, along with the others you helped were as good as dead. Only someone with immense strength of mind and heart could have done anything for them. I only hoped that you might have that in you. You far exceeded anything I might have hoped for.

"I know you have heard this from many other people, but I feel it is time I tell you myself. You truly are the most brilliant witch of your age; perhaps in time, even all of history. That however is not what makes you special.

"You have always displayed the heart and courage of a Gryffindor. After what you did yesterday, I believe that even Godric Gryffindor himself would bow to having his house renamed Granger….or Weasley. I thank you for the sacrifice you were willing to make to help others."

Harry and the others stared at Professor Dumbledore and each other. Astounded would not describe their reaction to his words. Hermione was as red in the face as any of them had ever seen. She could hardly even look at the three of them having suddenly turned very shy. Harry and Ginny despite everything, all of the pain of the past two days, couldn't help laughing at her.

"Quit it, you're picking on me," Hermione whispered at them.

"No, Mione," Ginny replied moving over, on the floor in front of her and wrapping her arms around her legs. "I am in awe of you. I always have been."

"Professor Dumbledore is right, Hermione. I have always been amazed by you," Harry added, as he joined Ginny in front of Hermione.

"I've been telling you, you were brilliant for years, Mione. You're the only one who does not see it," Ron whispered into her ear. Hermione basked in the glow of the praise she was receiving, tears welling in her eyes.

"Thank you, Professor," she said quietly, as she wiped her face, laughing at herself for a moment.

"Thank you, Hermione," Professor Dumbledore replied. He then took a deep breath and continued.

"I would also like to tell you, Ginevra Potter, that I am in awe of the selflessness you displayed in going to help your friends. You deserve recognition for that every bit as much as Hermione."

"Thank you, Professor," Ginny replied, grinning sheepishly. Professor Dumbledore smiled at all of them again.

"I thank you, Ginevra. At the same time, I must ask you, all of you, not to do something like this again. Had I been able to stop you from going to help your friends, I would have."

"I had a feeling this was coming," Ginny remarked quietly.

"You probably wonder why, why this was different than Harry going after Sirius a year ago, or the Dursleys a few months ago," Professor Dumbledore said to her. Ginny did not reply. Dumbledore took another deep breath and continued.

"I would have stopped Harry if I had known he was leaving to go after Sirius. That was the same failure I suffered with you. Both times, I was lucky enough to not lose either of you." Professor Dumbledore paused, stood up and started pacing the room again.

Harry could not help but feel a sense of deja'vu. Dumbledore was confessing his failures to all of them now, as he had with Harry the night Sirius died. He was hiding nothing about his emotions, letting them see everything. This time Harry understood better the burden he carried.

"Go on, Headmaster," Hermione said to him.

"I allowed Harry to go after the Dursleys for two reasons. One; I knew about the pictures Ginny had put on the chocolate frog cards. I hoped that the danger he was in would cause Ginny's picture to react, try and wake her to come after the rest of you, which it did. Two; I knew what both Harry and Ginny had seen in the Mirror of Erised." Harry could not help but smile.

"Is there anything I do that you don't watch, sir?" Dumbledore let out a quick snort of laughter and sat back down in the chair again.

"The picture knows better than to report certain things to me, Harry."

"Good," Ginny replied blushing slightly.

"Serves you right, Gin," Ron said, grinning from ear to ear.

"And why is that?" Ginny asked, slightly irritated at him.

"Well now you know how I felt taking that thing into the shower," Ron replied.

"Git," Ginny snapped at him before breaking into a smile. Dumbledore watched this exchange carefully; it buoyed his heart a little.

"After learning what both of you had seen in the mirror," Dumbledore continued. "I knew that Ginny was the third friend in the second prophecy, so I took a chance on interfering with it. A very dangerous proposition considering the warning that came with the prophecy, but I felt that Ginny had claimed her role, even if she had not taken Harry as hers yet. Even Bridgette, not knowing what the prophecy said, had reached this conclusion as you know from her words to you at the party the night before your weddings."

Harry felt his stomach lurch at the mention of Bridgette's name. The slight levity of a moment ago gone in an instant. He knew the others felt the same, and were all thinking about the party.

"He really does watch everything," Ron mumbled sadly to Hermione.

"I would really like to have her pouring that punch down my throat right now," Hermione added softly.

"Sir, you watch everything, what went wrong? Cho, Bridgette, Luna, Neville all of them had one of the cards. Why did you not know about the attacks the other day?" Harry asked. Dumbledore sighed deeply.

"Harry, I am sorry. I did know about most of the attacks by the time Ginny left and was sending help to all of them. However, there is a limit to what the cards can do in a given time. So much information was coming in that there were delays, and there is a priority that the information will be given to me in.

"Despite everything waiting for me before Ginny left the other morning, her departure overrode everything. The only thing that would have come before that would have been news of you leaving. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," Harry replied quietly.

Professor Dumbledore nodded at him before continuing.

"Moving back to the second prophecy, the truth is that I could have told Ronald about his place the night he was sorted. And Hermione could have been told Halloween night of her first year. I think you would both concur you were not ready for that information," Ron and Hermione nodded at him in agreement.

"I felt Ginny first started to emerge as the third friend her first year. That was the year she was marked by Voldemort. Others were still possible, but as time went on, it became impossible for me to believe anyone else could reach Harry the way Ginny does."

Again Dumbledore stood up and started pacing the sitting area before continuing. The four of them shifted in their seats as they watched him. It seemed that his voice grew stronger as he paced and his confidence became more evident.

"It has been evident to me for over a year that Harry would reach new heights because Ginny demanded them, and as the prophecy says, Harry would love her more, even if Hermione had taken Harry as hers.

"I believe that had Hermione chose Harry that would still be true. The love would have just stayed as that of a brother and sister. So you see how I felt safe in interfering, if you can call it that, with the prophecy." Harry and the others considered what Professor Dumbledore had told them.

"So, having identified Ginny as the third friend," Dumbledore continued, "I decided that I would bring her to Harry in the field when he went after the Dursleys. I knew that Ginny would not gather the others and leave as Harry asked. She would make him fight, or die with him. I hoped that this would somehow cause Harry to find the key to defeating Voldemort that night.

"That is why I allowed you to go after the Dursleys. I hoped that it might be the end battle. I was prepared to step in and save all of you if I had too, I was already moving to break the connection between Voldemort and Harry, when he lashed out to save Ginny." Dumbledore stopped and turned to them, his eyes locking on each of theirs momentarily.

"Do you see the flaw in my plan? Why Harry did not win that night?" he asked them a moment later. Harry shook his head after thinking about it for a minute.

"No, sir, I do not," Harry replied. Dumbledore sat down heavily in the chair again.

"Examine the second prophecy, the answer is there," he said.

"Your plan failed," Ron answered after another minute, "because I am the one who must make the plan for Harry's victory. Or Harry must do it alone."

"Yes, Ronald. You see my interference with the second prophecy did have a price. It brought the three of you to Voldemort's attention before it was necessary. That is why I kept all of you here this summer. And why you all must stay here no matter what happens until we have come up with a way to defeat Voldemort.

"If Voldemort comes here and Harry is not ready, then we must get the four of you away, because I am afraid that the next time Harry and Voldemort meet one will not survive. We must make sure it is Harry who lives. I do not mean to reduce any of your existences to that of a weapon of war. I value each of you for the person you are, and should one of you be injured or killed I would mourn the person lost, not the weapon. But I must ask you, especially you Ginevra, because you have the means.

"You are all either too important or know too much to risk that you fall into Voldemort's hands. You must not go on any more rescue missions for any reason. The next fight between Voldemort and Harry must occur on our terms." Dumbledore stopped talking and let his words sink in to the four of them. Ron was the first to speak.

"Voldemort was looking for us then, he attacked our homes and the homes of our friends in case we were there. All of them, the people who were injured, killed, it is because of us, because they chose to follow us and you want us to sacrifice them to save ourselves."

"They told you they would be your shield, Ronald. Bridgette was the first to learn that she had to pick a side in this fight, do not blame yourself for their deaths. The fault in these attacks lays with Voledmort….and myself," Dumbledore said, shaking his head.

"How is it your fault?" Ginny demanded angrily.

"It was my mistake that caused Voldemort to become aware of you three. That in turn has brought about the attacks on all of your friends from the DA. Voledmort was hunting for all of you yesterday morning. He hoped that he would find one or more of you, or that you would come to help your friends.

"Ginny, you should know that Peter Pettigrew was in that field the other day. He watched the whole thing as a rat. Voldemort apparated into the field only seconds after you left," Dumbledore replied.

"That's crap," Ginny spat at him, causing everyone to jump in surprise. "The only one responsible is Tom and the idiots who follow him. I suggest you quit feeling sorry for yourself and start fighting back," she finished angrily.

"Bloody Hell, even you aren't safe from her," Ron said, shaking his head at Professor Dumbledore.

"Promise me you will stay," Dumbledore replied calmly.

"We will do as you ask, Professor," Harry broke in to the conversation. "Won't we?" he said glaring at the others and Ginny in turn.

"You have my word, sir," Ron replied.

"And mine," Hermione added. Ginny returned Harry's glare.

"As you wish," she said quietly.

"Headmaster," Hermione said reaching out her hand to Professor Dumbledore. Dumbledore took her hand in his.

"Yes Hermione?"

"We know you value us for who we are, not because we are the people in the prophecies," she said to him.

"You have no idea what that means to me, Hermione, thank you."

"You're welcome, Headmaster." Professor Dumbledore dropped her hand; pulled out his handkerchief and blew his nose before continuing.

"Now that I know you will not be running off again on me, I will let you know the state of things after the attacks," Dumbledore said as he stood up and began to pace the room.

"First, the good news. You will all be glad to know that Cho, Susan, Alicia, Angelina, Fred, and George are recovering well. They are still having nightmares, and will for some time. They and their families are very anxious to see you, Hermione." Dumbledore paused and smiled at her again. Hermione blushed slightly, before he continued.

"Though the reason will not be announced, so as to prevent it from reaching Voldemort's ears, you will be quietly awarded the Order of Merlin 2nd class," Dumbledore paused once more to let this news sink in. Hermione was in complete shock, none of the others knew what to say.

"Even in the darkest of times, it is important to celebrate life. None of you forget that as you pick up your training again tomorrow," Dumbledore said quietly. They all nodded at him.

"Ginevra, since both Cho and Neville were unconscious when you rescued them. I was able to keep your animagus secret. I also have managed to convince the Ministry that Neville's grandmother gave you the portkey you used, because you were supposed to visit that morning.

"You arrived to find them under attack and were able to drive off the Death Eaters and bring Cho and the others back to Hogwarts. You are being awarded the Order of Merlin 3rd class." Harry shook his head, while Dumbledore stopped to smile at Ginny before continuing.

"The other members of the DA and their families, while under attack, managed to put up a much stronger fight than any of the Death Eaters expected. The death curse was largely ineffective as most members of the DA were successfully able to perform the Phoenix charm.

"Once they found themselves under attack by the death curse, your friends responded in kind. It is believed that over three hundred Death Eaters and supporters of Voldemort participated in the attacks; forty-two were killed, including two from Voldemort's inner circle, McNair and Nott. There were also a number of injuries to Voldemort's supporters that resulted in their capture. You four have much to be proud of, most of the damage was done before Aurors started to arrive and help your friends and their families."

This news did little to alleviate the pain of the deaths that occurred in the attacks, but the news that the DA had hurt Voledmort and his followers provided some comfort to the four of them.

"The last bit of good news is that the Ministry has finally seen fit to declare war on Voldemort and his followers. A number of them are on a list that authorizes the use of the death curse against them on sight. The use of the death curse has also been authorized when you find yourself under attack as your friends did. This will prevent any of your friends or their  
family who did use the curse from being tried as criminals. None of them need fear having their wands taken, or spending time in Azkaban," Dumbledore finished.

"Lucky for the Ministry, because they would put Cho or any of them in prison over my dead body," Ginny replied.

"Mine too," Harry, Ron and Hermione added. Dumbledore smiled at them.

"Mine too. In fact, I mentioned that to the Minister myself before she assured me that they would not be prosecuted," Dumbledore said to them.

"I guess that leaves the bad news then, doesn't it sir," Harry said after a minute. Dumbledore frowned.

"That and my instructions for you," he replied. "You already know that Bridgette, Luna, Neville's Grandmother and Cho's father are dead. Luna's father, Colin and Dennis Creevey, along with both their parents, Seamus Finiagan, and both his mother and father are also dead. There are also numerous injuries, mostly broken bones, and cuts. A few are suffering from the effects of the Cruciatus curse. No, Hermione," Dumbledore cut her off, "they do not need your help. They did not suffer the breakdown of their mind as the others did. They are merely having nightmares as they try to adjust to what happened to them," Dumbledore stopped, giving them time to digest this news before continuing.

Harry and Ginny were still sitting on the floor in front of Ron and Hermione. The two of them were holding Harry and Ginny from behind. Harry looked at each of them. Hermione and Ginny were both quietly crying again. He was too; they had all spent too much time with tears in their eyes the past two days.

The roller coaster of emotions was driving him nuts. Terror at Ginny's disappearance, anguish over Bridgette's death, terror each time Hermione went into the mind of one of his friends, elation each time she saved one of them and was ok herself. There was the pride he had in how the DA had fought, anger that he had not, more anger that he was going to hide, and even more anger at Voldemort.

Harry looked at Ron as he stared straight ahead. For not the first time in his life he envied him. Ron was not crying, and Harry wished he had the strength to hold his tears in. He wanted to do all his crying when Voldemort was dead.

_Ron is crying too, if you know him well enough you can see it,_the voices said to him. Harry looked at Ron again. The voices were right.

"You said you had instructions for us, Professor," Ron said quietly. Dumbledore sighed again before he started speaking.

"All of the families of the DA members have gone into hiding. All of the adults have asked to join the Order. Thankfully, actually amazingly, all their children are in the DA or have left school already. That makes it easy enough for your friends to join you at school here for the rest of the summer. Voldemort will expect them to go into hiding, he does not know you four are here, and will not expect them to be brought here either. Even if he did, he is not prepared to attack the school.

"The DA will start again with you four teaching. The battle training you did with them all year saved their lives. You will take time to specifically train them against your stunning spells. They can develop the ability to deflect the blasts, and the increase in the strength of their shields will help them against all other curses except the death curse. Help them build up to it. Ginny, you will teach everyone the shield spell you used to reflect the curse back at that Death Eater. And the four of you will begin to train them in Legilimency and Occulemency.

"You four have all performed magic without your wands. During battle training you will fight without wands. The Unspeakable will be here tomorrow to begin your training against the Cruciatus curse. He is the person who I trained with, and will be more than capable of performing the curse correctly. You may also offer to train any of the DA who want against the Cruciatus curse, unlike you or I, they will not be able to shut the pain out, but tolerance can be developed none the less."

"Sir, I don't know about that," Harry interrupted him.

"I have visited with Cho; she let me in her mind." Dumbledore cut across him. "Luna shut down and died from the curse almost twenty-five minutes before Cho even developed the wall in her mind. That comes from a will to fight. You all know it can be developed. I ask you to offer the training. Let them decide if they want it." Harry turned to the others. It was one thing to train against it, another to cast it at someone.

"You and Ron both know I will do it," Hermione said to them.

"What is she talking about, Harry?" Ginny asked.

"Hermione got mad at Harry and I while you were in the hospital, Gin," Ron answered. "We were moping about you, not paying attention, so she took over for you in the DA one night."

"She hit both Ron and I with the Cruciatus curse to get our attention told us that you would kill us both when you woke up if we did not get our act together," Harry said, smiling at the memory now. "As I remember, Ron asked me to step in for him and marry Hermione at that point."

"Good for you, Hermione," Ginny remarked, obviously impressed. "You're lucky Harry didn't take Ron up. You and Harry would look really funny with green hair," she teased them both. Harry turned back to Professor Dumbledore.

"Sir, I have question."

"What is it Harry?"

"You ask us to cast this curse at our friends. Are you willing to do it also? Will you come to the DA and cast the Cruciatus curse at your students?" Dumbledore studied Harry for a moment.

"I did cast the Death curse at you, Harry," he replied.

"I'm not forgetting that. Fawkes was there to protect me, and you. There is nothing to protect us or you from what we are going to do to them," Harry answered. Dumbledore considered Harry again.

"I will come and cast the curse against any who wish to train against it, Harry." Harry nodded at him.

"I thought you would, I just needed to hear it," he said quietly. "I know you have other things to attend too, you do not have to come and prove it. I will take your word."

"It was a fair question, Harry," Dumbledore replied.

"Thank you, sir." Dumbledore smiled at him and the others.

"I have one more instruction for you."

"I hope this is an easy one," Ginny mumbled under her breath.

"I want you all, the DA included, to make sure you still live  
life. You four enjoy your spouses, invite each other into your minds, go run in the woods as lions. There will be enough of you here to play quidditch. Anywhere on the school grounds will be safe. Prepare to fight Voldemort, but do not let it rule you, leave that to me."

"We will try, Professor," Hermione said quietly.

"Let me help you get started," Dumbledore said summoning the table and Ron's chess board to him. "May I set up a new game, Ronald?"

"Sure, I know where all the pieces go, I can put them back."

"Good then, let's see if you are up to taking on the four of us in a quick game before we go to the hospital wing. Say three minutes to make a move per side." Harry, Hermione and Ginny scrambled to their feet.

"You're going to get whipped, Chess Boy," Ginny said to Ron. Ron laughed at her.

"Care to make a bet, Ginny?" he asked

"Sure, Ron," Harry cut in, "if we win you have to give us all a shoulder massage. If you win,"

"If I win, you all have to wear, Weasley is our King, shirts to the first DA meeting," Ron interrupted him. "You're excluded from the bet sir," he added a second later to Professor Dumbledore.

"Oh no, Ronald, I would not dream of giving up a free shoulder massage," Dumbledore replied his eyes twinkling.

"Ok then, you asked for it," Ron replied.

"Shut up and play, Love," Hermione said to Ron.

* * *

Hermione fell in next to Harry and Ginny as they headed down the hall to the hospital wing to visit with their friends and familly.

"Ginny, would it be to late for me to marry Harry, and give you back your brother?" she asked. Ron smiled to himself as Hermione squeezed his hand.

"No way, you keep the stupid chess genius," Ginny replied grumpily.

"Well, Hermione, you could just dump him and be my mistress," Harry remarked casually.

"Ouch," he yelped. Ginny had given him a very hard elbow in the ribs.

"Watch it, Potter. I don't share," Ginny said glaring at him, her eyes twinkling, her mouth smiling.

"As you wish, Ginny," Harry replied before they walked into the hospital wing.


	9. Chapter 9: Pawn to E4

Please note the world of Harry Potter belongs to JKR. I'm only playing with her creation. Also the story image was a free download I found. Thank you to whomever it belongs. I will remove it immediately if asked.

* * *

Author's note:

As with, A Promise Kept and Harry Potter and the Blood Traitor, this is an older work that I am posting to help tide people over till my new works are ready. If I were to write this now, I would hit it with a pretty heavy editing hand. But I'm not writing it now and will be leaving it as is. Still, while it won't help this story, your comments will help my future work. So I will say it again, reviews are how you pay fanfic authors. I thereby challenge anyone who reads, like it or loath it to leave a review. I will do my best to respond to all signed reviews.

Also, I'm perfectly aware that with the title of the story and a quick google search you can find the whole thing. Certainly I can't stop you from doing so. Just know that I while I have not taken my works down from the old site, I no longer check anything there. If you want an answer to a question, you're going to have to contact me here.

Hope you like it.

Authors' note#2:

I suppose I should have expected this as my old work is going up. It was a very different life and more than five years since I said I was done with fan fiction. Now I'm back writing again. I'm on a new site with a new penname. A simple google search of the titles of my old work will direct you to mugglenet and the penname of huskers. So, I might as well say that yes, I use to post on mugglenet under the penname of huskers. Please read the bio there that directs you to find any new work as well as my old work here under the new penname of Sorcerer's Muse. Yes, I am one in the same. If you have any doubts that I am the same person and that all the work posted here is indeed mine, please go to mugglenet. Look up huskers' page and send an email with an appropriate code word of your choosing. I will then post that code word on my profile here to prove that I am the same person. **Note, I will not post anything vulgar or inappropriate.**

As always, thank you for reading my work.

Sorcerer's Muse

* * *

**Pawn to E4**

* * *

The fire burning in the hearth of the chamber, despite its size, did little to heat the cold of the room. Only the small area near it noticed any real change in temperature. The darkness of the windowless room pervaded threatening to overtake the feeble light cast by the torches mounted on the walls and extinguish them altogether. Cloaked, hooded figures moved quickly and silently in the shadows behind the twelve who stood in a semi-circle facing the fire and the back of the lone, throne like, chair that sat just at the edge of the line of heat the fire cast off.

"Where are they Severus?" Voldemort hissed at him. Snape moved quickly, postioning himself in between Voldemort and the fire, sinking to his knees before speaking.

"Master, I do not know. I have been here with you the whole summer," Severus Snape replied cautiously.

"I know that Severus, but you; unlike some of my servants have a brain in your head. You are with that old fool most of the time. You must have some thoughts as to where he has hidden them."

"My Lord, you know he is brilliant, I do not think even he knows where they are hiding." Voldemort almost laughed. Snape was right; Dumbledore was not truly a fool. If anyone could hide Harry and the other three from him, and then hide the knowledge from himself it was Dumbledore.

"Perhaps we shall attack the train as they are brought to the school this year Severus?" Voldemort remarked, clearly enjoying the thought.

"My lord is that wise? He is sure to place many Aurors there. We suffered many losses in our attack last week, without facing them.

Snape asked this question with terror in his heart. It was a foolish man who reminded Voldemort of that utter failure. Voldemort considered this reply with barely controlled rage.

Draco Malfoy had mentioned to his father that there was some club being run at the school, Harry Potter was the leader. It had taken a year for Crabbe, Goyle, and Malfoy to get the names of all the students in the club out of their respective sons. Harry was such a fool that the knowledge of who they were was a powerful weapon to have against him.  
Voldemort had decided to attack all of them after Harry had rescued the Dursleys that spring. If Harry would come rescue the Muggles who had raised, but hated him, then surely he would come for these friends.

He had picked Harry's birthday on purpose, to taunt him. It had seemed like a perfect plan. Yet his Death Eaters had been savaged in the fights.

Forty-two dead, twenty-three captured because of their injuries, compared to twelve dead and an unknown number of injuries for the other side. And most of the carnage to his followers had been caused by children. They had even killed two of his inner circle. Voldemort cared not that any of them were dead, only for the loss of a servant.

Those that successfully completed their attacks had not gotten any information from the ones they tortured. And they had all been driven off by Aurors, who arrived much too soon after the attacks started, to bring back even one prisoner. Voldemort was convinced one of his followers was a spy because of it.

Harry had not come to the aid of any of his friends, nor had the boy Ronald Weasley or that Girl Hermione Granger, Weasley now, Voldemort reminded himself. He would have been happy with the death of even one of them.

And then there was the other girl, Harry's wife. Even though he had never seen her before she knelt on the ground in front of Harry in the graveyard, Voldemort recognized her from somewhere. She had done nothing in that fight, yet he knew she was powerful.

She had confirmed it when she did come to the rescue of her friends. Her stunning spells, if you did not erect a shield to deflect the blast, killed those she attacked as surely as the death curse. And while anyone could snap a wand in half, to simply crush one into fine powder with magic - that required power near his own. She, along with the other two was more than a match for any of his Death Eaters. All three, along with Harry, had to die.

"You think I fear the Aurors, Severus?" Voldemort hissed at him.

"No, Master," Snape replied, only just daring to hope he would not be punished for his insolence.

"Yet you offer me nothing as to where these four are. Their school year starts soon. You have told me the old fool will not be letting any students leave the grounds to go to Hogsmead this year. My patience is thin. I want them dead. Perhaps I will attack the school itself," Voldemort said, his anger rising by the second.

Snape did not reply. Voldemort had threatened the school many times; this was no different. Snape was sure he would not carry out the threat, the train however, that was another matter.

"Master?" One of the other figures standing in the semi-circle said as he moved cautiously in front of Voldemort and sank to his knees.

"You have something to say, Lucius?" Voldemort hissed dangerously at him.

"Perhaps there is a way to get to Potter and the others," Lucius replied. Voldemort considered the kneeling figures before him.

"Severus, the rest of you, leave us," Voldemort hissed. He waited quietly for the room to empty before speaking again.

"Go on, Lucius," he said when he felt the last of his servants leave the room.

* * *

Pain is one of the most curious of sensations, completely relative and entirely dependent on the strength of mind of the person suffering. As long as you could convince yourself that the pain did not matter, then you were fine. Cho Chang had been able to convince herself for almost seventy minutes of off and on again torture that the pain she was in did not matter, that it would end and she would be fine. Finally she had reached her breaking point. Her mind had separated who she was from the pain.

For her, it was a temporary solution. If the curse had continued, she had no way of convincing the one part of her mind that was suffering that it would end. Eventually that part of her mind would have quit accepting the pain and she would have died. That is what happened to Luna Lovegood. Luckily for Cho, Ginny had rescued her soon enough after the split, that the one part of her mind that registered the pain had not shut down and killed her.

Unfortunately for Cho she had still been trapped, because the part of her mind that knew the pain had ended could not reach past the wall to who she was. She had been lucky again. Hermione did have the strength to reconnect her mind and make her whole again.

Harry understood all of this now, and it did not help in the least as he watched Ron's trembling body. Ron was nearing the end of this training session, and he was fighting desperately to convince the voice that the pain did not matter. Thankfully, he was not screaming in agony. None of them did anymore, at least not Ron, Ginny, Hermione or himself; _most_of the rest of the DA was another matter.

Harry flinched as a particularly violent tremble ripped through Ron. He and the others had done a lot of things to themselves to prepare for the fight with Voldemort. This was by far the worst. The strength it took to fight the Cruciatus curse was unbelievable. Two hours was as bad as ten spent trying to get into each other's minds. He did not know how, but they all got better each session.

Harry turned away. It was sickening to watch, and he needed his strength to cast the curse at the rest of the DA later that day. Some wizards may have been impressed with how long Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione, could fight the curse; they themselves were not. They had an advantage.

For Harry and sorcerers like him who had developed different selves, they could send all the pain to one voice. As long as they could convince the voice that the pain would end, they could fight. Because they always had part of their mind separated from the pain, it was much easier for them to fight the curse than for a sorcerer without the voices. What impressed Harry, and the others, was the rest of the DA.

All of them had decided to train against the curse, even those whose minds had split under the effects of it when the Death Eaters had been torturing them for real. They were unable to separate any part of their mind from the pain, and when Harry or one of their other three leaders cast the curse at them. Their screams of agony reverberated in the appration training room. Those screams also burned into Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny's minds.

The four of them had not slept in their own rooms since the training began. The only comfort they could find was in each other on the floor of their sitting area. Each of them wanted nothing more than to stop the training sessions, but each day there were a few members of the DA who would ask to have the curse cast at them. Harry and the others all knew that if their friends had the strength to deal with the pain, then they owed it to them to cast the curse.

The Unspeakable who cast the curse at Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny monitored all of the DA members' progress. His ability to cast the curse was too great to risk on any of the rest of the DA, but he kept track of the charts for each person and set the maximum time limit of their next session. None of the DA was even approaching the time Cho had spent suffering the curse during the Death Eaters attacks of four weeks ago. It was just too dangerous, but they would all be armed to some point if it happened to them for real.

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny all were pushing themselves harder than ever against the Unspeakable. They knew the strength gained from this made them stronger in their ability to fight their way into someone's mind.

With the training the DA was doing, if one of them cracked, and their mind split from the effects of the curse, they were making it harder for a Healer to save them. Harry and the others knew they might have to try and save one of their friends. They owed them the best they could possibly do.

Hermione was pushing herself more than any of them, even scaring Ginny with her intensity. Her success at helping Cho and the others had convinced her she could do more. She had even talked about trying to help Neville's parents, gone so far as to convince Professor Dumbledore and Healer Marchbanks to let her try. Harry, Ron and Ginny had argued with her for hours against it. It was the closest Ron and she had come to a real fight in over a year.

Neville, finally put a stop to it. He was his parent's guardian now, and he forbid Hermione to go near them. He had even gone so far as to put a standing order in at the hospital that Hermione was not allowed to see his parents without him in attendance also. Harry continued to let his mind wander, letting it take him away from the picture of Ron behind him.

Most of the DA had progressed to the point that they could cast a shield of sufficient strength to deflect the best stunning spell Hermione could muster when she was not fighting for her life. They were working their way up, Hermione first, followed by Ron, then Ginny and last Harry.

The people who progressed the fastest seemed to be in direct correlation to how much they had been hurt in the Death Eater attacks. Cho, despite spending more time in the hospital than anyone, was the first to start training against Harry.

Occlumency and Legilimency where going fairly well too. With all of the DA being able to erect at least some form of defense. Harry was really quiet astounded by everyone's progress. When he, Ron, Hermione and Ginny talked with Professor Dumbledore about it, Dumbledore had told them there were two reasons for the progress. One, they were all excellent teachers, and two.

"It is a question of motivation." Dumbledore had commented. The words rang in Harry's mind, along with a few others. Harry had new motivation now too.

"Harry?"  
"I'm still here, Bridgette."  
"Happy Birthday, Harry."

Harry did not know why it was Bridgette among all of the carnage of the attacks that stayed with him. Well, he did to some extent. She had been special to him. Even though they both had agreed they were not the one for each other, they had both really tried. Had both, Harry realized now, wanted their relationship to succeed, and they had shared a lot.

Harry knew all of Bridgette's hopes and dreams. She loved transfiguration, and was very good at it, better even than Hermione, because it required effort for her. She hoped to teach, and Professor McGonagall had taken her under her wing. He knew she wanted children, had even thought about names for a boy if she had one. She liked Eric. Now she was gone, her life taken before it started.

Harry blinked back a tear. He could see her perfectly in his mind, he frequently caught himself remembering the two kisses they had shared, and found himself crying because she would never know what it felt like when you kissed the person meant for you.

Harry had been asked to speak at her funeral by her mother. He had agreed and asked if she would give him a picture of Bridgette. He could not even remember what he had said at the funeral, but her mother and father had thanked him.

Bridgette's picture now sat on the table by the fireplace in the sitting area of his flat. At least once a day he, Ginny, Ron and Hermione would stop and honor her last request, that they never forget her.

Harry came to his senses when he heard Ron crash to the floor after being released from the Cruciatus curse. He quickly wiped his eyes again before turning around and walking over to help him up. Ron looked terrible.

"How did I do?" he asked, his voice weak from the strain of the training session.

"Two hours twenty four minutes and fifteen seconds," the unspeakable replied.

"Damn!" Ron said angrily under his breath. His goal by the end of the week was two and a half hours, and when you only gained a few minutes each session it was going to be tight.

"Be glad it is not your night to cast the curse on the rest of the DA," Harry remarked handing him a glass of water.

"Where are our wives?"

"They went to the potions vault. Hermione was in tears watching you," Harry replied.

"You and Hermione are going to start the meeting tonight right?"

"Yes, Ginny has to train against the Cruciatus curse yet today, and then you and her have to do whatever it is that you're working on," Harry replied. The door to the flat opened, and Ginny walked in followed by Hermione.

"Hi, Mione," Ron said to her, meeting her halfway across the floor.

"Hi, Love, you're ok?"

"Better than I will be tomorrow when it is your turn to do this," he replied, kissing her on her forehead.

"Hello, Potter," Ginny whispered as she snuggled into him.

_**"Hi, Gin,"**_Harry thought to her. Ginny's eyes flashed at him.

_**"Behave yourself, Potter,"**_she replied.

"You're no fun," Harry said with a grin. Ginny flashed him a smile and gave him a quick kiss before she turned to the Unspeakable.

"I guess we should get started." Harry flinched.

"Whenever you're ready, Ginny," the Unspeakable replied.

Ginny regarded the man for a moment. She knew nothing about him except that Dumbledore trusted him. Almost everything about him was average. Average height, average weight, he wasn't unattractive for a middle-aged man she thought; yet he wasn't attractive either. Straight brown hair, slightly balding, a decent smile when he showed it, and eyes that appeared uninterested in anything, yet she knew, took in everything.

Perhaps, because he appeared to be so average was the reason he was so impressive. He was, in truth she had learned, very smart with knowledge of more dark curses and hexes than she thought possible. He was extremely competent at dueling, as she had seen the other day when he took out Fred, George and Lee Jordan at the same time in a demonstration for the DA. And while he was no match for herself, Harry, Ron or Hermione, he was quite powerful.

"You know, would it be that big a deal for us to know your name?" she asked. The man looked at her and the others for a moment.

"You may call me Mark," he replied with a smile.

"Is that your real name, sir?" Ron asked.

"It could be, then again maybe not," the man replied, still smiling at them.

"Mark, how do you put up with this? It is killing us to do this to our friends," Hermione asked him timidly. Mark looked at her, considering the question.

"I'm surprised it took you this long to ask," he finally said to her.

"Are you going to tell us then?" Harry asked, after a few moments of quiet.

"We'll, as you all know you really can't use the pensive as much as you would like. You need all of those memories so you don't really hurt someone. I know I am causing you four lots of pain. And like you, I hear the screams of your friends when I sleep too. I just have the ability to accept that I am really helping you even though it hurts you. It also helps that you four don't scream. In a way, you are all doing this to yourselves, any one of you can stop at any time and no one will think less of you for it." Harry and the others turned his answer over in their minds.

"Have you trained against this?" Ginny asked.

"Yes, there is no way I could do it without knowing the pain it causes. All Aurors and Unspeakables train against this. We do it to each other, following the same procedures we have been using. It takes years of practice for a new Auror or Unspeakable to get to the point where I am casting the spell at them, not because I can't weaken it, but because it is a waste of my time.

"When your Headmaster first told me there were four students who needed to train against this, and he needed me to do it. I knew, from the meeting where Harry first showed us the phoenix charm, it had to be you four. I don't relish casting the curse at you, but I simply had to see if you were capable of what he said.

"The Minister was sure I would be back in a day telling her that it would be years before you were ready to fight me. I tended to agree with her, but as I am still here, you have proved us both wrong and your Headmaster correct.

"And do you weaken the spell for us?" Harry asked.

"No, even Hermione, who is the weakest, was taking everything I could give her within three days."

"It will be harder if a Death Eater gets hold of us, won't it?" Ron asked.

"I'm afraid so, but like your friends who train against you, you will find even more strength in that situation. Look at Miss Chang, she fought the Death Eaters for more than an hour, yet she has trouble against you four after fifteen minutes, and you do not generate the pain that a Death Eater does. That is a function of doing what you must. I would venture a Death Eater getting hold of one of you four would die of old age before you quit fighting them," Mark finished with a grin.

"That might be pushing it a little," Ron remarked dryly.

"Yes, it is….but then after watching your training sessions with the DA, I doubt any Death Eater could take one of you, certainly not in a one on one fight. Hermione, who is the weakest of you, without a wand is worth three Mad-Eye Moodys. While there is more to being an Auror, or Unspeakable than an ability to fight, most of the members of the DA are at least as competent as the most junior Aurors in that department. Dumbledore's Army is truly that. And I am not joking in the least when I say it."

Harry moved to the couch and sat down as he turned Mark's words over in his mind.

"I have a question or two for you four if you do not mind," Mark said after a few minutes.

"You can ask, we may or may not answer," Ginny replied, her voice had taken on a hint of warning.

"Fair enough," Mark replied.

"Go ahead," Harry said to him.

"I notice the scars on you hands, and you, Harry, have those scars on your arm, what are they from?" Harry had to stop himself from smiling at what he was sure was a lead in question to what Mark really wanted to ask.

"The scars on our hands are from the Blood Oath of Brotherhood and Sisterhood. The puncture wound on my arm is from a basilisk fang. This scar is where Peter Pettigrew drew the blood from me for Voldemort's rebirthing. The other scar on my arm….I cut myself," Harry replied. Mark nodded at Harry's reply.

"My second question," Mark asked, looking directly in each of their eyes, turning to Ginny last and holding her in his gaze, "is why do four children, train to fight Voldemort, why do any army of children follow you, why does your Headmaster allow unforgivable curses to be cast at you, and allow you to cast them at others?"

"I should think after the attacks against our friends, that the answer to that is obvious," Hermione replied quickly hoping to keep Ginny in a reasonable state.

"Humor me," Mark replied, still holding his eyes on Ginny. He knew it was ultimately her who would decide if he got an answer.

"Husband, he asks too much," Ginny said icily, not backing away from Mark in the least. Ginny feared only one person, and Mark was not him, she was making sure he knew it. Harry considered the question and Ginny's concern. If she did not want him to tell someone then he wouldn't.

"Mark could sign the DA creed that we all did after the attacks," Ron suggested. "Because he would then be bound as the rest of us are. Agreeing that willful betrayal is punishable by death, he could then be given the same information the rest of the DA has."

"Ginny?" Harry asked, as he carefully watched Mark. His face had only twitched slightly at Ron's statement of punishment by death.

"If he signs, I will accept him having that information," Ginny replied.

"Hermione, you are the first keeper of the creed who lives," Harry said quietly to her. Hermione waved her wand in the air mumbling an. incantation as she did.

"Ginny, you are the second keeper of the creed who lives," Ron said to his sister. Ginny waved her wand in the air and quietly said another incantation. After she finished, flames formed into words in the air in front of Mark.

_WE WHO'S NAMES APPEAR HAVE SIGNED OF OUR OWN FREE WILL. WE HAVE BEEN ENTRUSTED WITH CERTAIN KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTAND THAT NOT EVERYTHING HAS BEEN REVEALED TO US._

IF WE WISH TO LEAVE OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS WE MAY, BUT OUR MEMORY WILL BE ERASED AND WE WILL FOREVER BE WATCHED.

WE ARE AT WAR. OUR ENEMY IS VOLDEMORT, AND ANY WHO FOLLOW HIM. WE PLEDGE OUR LIVES TO THE EFFORT, AND TO THE PROTECTION OF OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS NAMED BELOW. WILLFULL BETRAYAL OF OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS WILL LEAVE US MARKED FOR THEM TO SEE. OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS MAY PUNISH US FOR OUR BETRAYAL.

DEATH MAY BE THE PRICE.

WE

ARE DUMBLEDORES ARMY.

"If you sign your name, the names of your brothers and sisters will appear. You know most of them already. In case you're wondering, the name Albus Dumbledore is one of them," Harry said quietly to Mark.

"The creed will know if you do not use your real name," Ginny added. Marks face twitched slightly again.

"And your loyalty will be put to the test. You should know that the Minister's name is not on the list. The Order of the Phoenix and Dumbledore's Army are the head in the fight against Voldemort, not the Ministry of Magic," Hermione added. Harry could see Mark considering this information.

"And if you think for second that I won't kill you or you are even capable of defending yourself against me you are sadly mistaken," Ginny said quietly, her threat hanging in the air.

"You are not capable of defending yourself against me, and I am the weakest of us," Hermione added her own threat to Ginny's.

"And how would I sign?" Mark asked.

"Do you really think we believe you don't know how?" Ron replied.

Mark looked at them all. He had not expected something like this, but the more he thought about it he had to ask himself why he hadn't. People did not train against the Cruciatus curse for fun. They did it because they felt like there was a good chance it would be used against them. A number of the children, as he called them, he was dealing with lately had already suffered the fate.

Friends of these four had been singled out by Voldemort and his Death Eaters and killed. Not with a quick blow, but slowly tortured to death. One, eighteen year old girl had suffered the effects of the Cruciatus curse for more than an hour without giving the Death Eaters the information they wanted. Mark doubted he was that strong.

As for fighting Hermione or Ginny, he had seen too many training sessions of them fighting without wands to even consider it and option. If either one decided to kill him, he knew he was as good as dead. Mark pulled out his wand and wrote his name in the air beneath the creed.

Marcus Aaron Stevenson – Unspeakable

When he finished writing his name, the names of all the DA members appeared in flaming red letters underneath the statement. His name moved through the air to the bottom of the list. A second list of names appeared to the right of the first. Each of these names was also in red flames and was crossed out with an **X** that flamed black. To the right of each of these names, in black flamed letters, the words-

KILLED BY VOLDEMORT'S FOLLOWERS JULY 31-1997

-floated ominously. There were five names so far.

Bridgette Weasley  
Luna Lovegood  
Seamus Finigan  
Dennis Creevey  
Collin Creevey

Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny all knew it was foolish, but they hoped desperately that the second list would not be added to. Ron spoke first.

"The DA began, in our fifth year, Ginny's fourth. It was supposed to be a club. Something to help us pass our O.W.L.s because the Ministry stuck us with that troll, Umbridge, for a Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor.

"Hermione and I, well mostly Hermione, recruited Harry to teach us. He was good at the defense stuff, the best in the school in only his fourth year. Umbridge had us banned before we started. We did it anyways as a protest more than anything. You remember Dumbledore got sacked about a year and a half ago now?" Ron asked pausing to see Mark's answer. Mark nodded at him.

"Someone in the group at the time ratted us out," Ginny picked up. "Harry was the leader, and it looked like he was going to get kicked out of school, but Dumbledore took the fall instead. None of us knew at the time how important it really was. You must know all about the incident at the Ministry with Voldemort, and how Dumbledore regained his position as Headmaster?" Ginny asked. Mark nodded again.

"Harry found out that night, why Voldemort tried to kill him as a baby," Hermione picked up the story now, writing out the first three lines of the first prophecy in the air.

"There was a prophecy made before he was born. A Death Eater overheard the first two lines of the prophecy and told Voldemort about it. Voldemort spent the first year of Harry's life hunting for him and tried to kill him because of the prophecy. The mark is on his forehead," Mark looked at Harry. Harry saw his eyes grow wide as comprehension washed over him.

"There is more to the prophecy, but to protect me and you, I won't tell you what it says," Harry said. "The four of us restarted the DA this summer to help me train to fight against him. When we got back to school, we restarted the DA with everyone. We still didn't really understand what we were doing. And, we found out about a second prophecy." Harry stood up and wrote out the first three parts of the second prophecy in the air.

"It should be easy to figure out. I am the equal. Ron is the first friend, Hermione is the second, and Ginny is the third."

"What does the prophecy say about, Ginny?" Mark asked when he finished reading it. Harry smiled and shook his head.

"I am afraid that, like the exact wording of the first prophecy is too dangerous to give out."

"I see," Mark replied.

"So," Ron said, "the short answer to your question is, the four of us _children_, Hermione, Ginny, and myself, will help Harry defeat Voldemort. Harry will deliver the final blow, but any of us could be the one who makes that blow possible. That, is why we train.

"None of us really understood what we were doing until Voldemort attacked our friends July 31st. That was the day the DA quit playing and declared war. Until then being a traitor would only result in some crazy hex that Hermione came up with. We don't know how Voldemort found out who all the DA members were, but no one from the DA was responsible, because the hex did not kick in," Ron finished.

"Even so, Cho came into the first meeting after the attacks and gave us this," Hermione said, pointing at the creed and list of names. "She didn't have to convince anyone but us. The rest of the DA all insist it is their choice to fight against Voldemort, and that one of them could very easily make it possible for Harry to deliver the final blow.

"We argued against this creed, we trust them, but they all said they would sign it without us, it would bind them the same. So we agreed and signed also. We can't really tell you why they follow us, but they do. They were all attacked because Voledmort was hunting for us. We don't want their protection, but they insist on giving it. We are the best Dumbledore can offer them as teachers, so we continue to train them," Hermione finished.

"You are now bound by the creed, anything you can offer to train us you must. In return, we and the rest of your brothers and sisters will do the same for you," Ginny said. "Which brings us back to you casting the Cruciatus curse at me." Hermione caught the color draining from Harry. It was her turn to rescue him, as he had done for her when Ron was training earlier that day.

"Love, you stay with Ginny. Harry and I will go start the DA meeting, hopefully by the time you two get there; we'll be done with the Cruciatus curse that way you and Ginny don't have to listen to the screaming today."

"This isn't much better," Ron grumbled.

"Maybe not for you, but it is for Harry." Ron sighed.

"Ok, Minoe. I'll see you later."

"Thanks, Ron," Harry mumbled, as Hermione started to pull him out of the room.

"Make sure you stick exactly to each person's chart," Mark said to them.

"We will, I have no desire to do this any longer than I have too," Hermione replied.

"Me either," Harry added quietly, as Hermione closed the door behind them.


	10. Chapter 10: Bungie Jumping with Dragons

Please note the world of Harry Potter belongs to JKR. I'm only playing with her creation. Also the story image was a free download I found. Thank you to whomever it belongs. I will remove it immediately if asked.

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Author's note:

As with, A Promise Kept and Harry Potter and the Blood Traitor, this is an older work that I am posting to help tide people over till my new works are ready. If I were to write this now, I would hit it with a pretty heavy editing hand. But I'm not writing it now and will be leaving it as is. Still, while it won't help this story, your comments will help my future work. So I will say it again, reviews are how you pay fanfic authors. I thereby challenge anyone who reads, like it or loath it to leave a review. I will do my best to respond to all signed reviews.

Also, I'm perfectly aware that with the title of the story and a quick google search you can find the whole thing. Certainly I can't stop you from doing so. Just know that I while I have not taken my works down from the old site, I no longer check anything there. If you want an answer to a question, you're going to have to contact me here.

Hope you like it.

Authors' note#2:

I suppose I should have expected this as my old work is going up. It was a very different life and more than five years since I said I was done with fan fiction. Now I'm back writing again. I'm on a new site with a new penname. A simple google search of the titles of my old work will direct you to mugglenet and the penname of huskers. So, I might as well say that yes, I use to post on mugglenet under the penname of huskers. Please read the bio there that directs you to find any new work as well as my old work here under the new penname of Sorcerer's Muse. Yes, I am one in the same. If you have any doubts that I am the same person and that all the work posted here is indeed mine, please go to mugglenet. Look up huskers' page and send an email with an appropriate code word of your choosing. I will then post that code word on my profile here to prove that I am the same person. **Note, I will not post anything vulgar or inappropriate.**

As always, thank you for reading my work.

Sorcerer's Muse

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**Bungie Jumping with Dragons**

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The warm sun of late summer filtered through the leaves of the trees that lined the path in front of Harry and Ginny. As they drew closer to the rock wall and gated stone arch of the Hogwart's cemetery, the trees fell back from the path letting the fullness of the sun shine down on the grave markers that stretched far into the distance. They followed the path around to the back of the cemetery and up a small hill to where the Forbidden Forest was attempting to push its way back into the graveyard. Spotting Ron and Hermione already sitting in front of the simple stone that marked Bridgette's grave, they walked up and joined them.

The attacks of Voldemort and his followers had continued after those of July 31st. The ferocity and frequency had increased, but the effectiveness had not been any better than those that had been unleashed on the DA members and their families. The populace, emboldened by the success of children, was fighting back. Even so, all of the funerals for the fallen DA members had occurred in secret; so as not to present to great a target for Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Still, the DA members had only been able to attend the  
ceremony at the school for their friends. The only burial they had actually been able to be present for, was Bridgette's.

The Creevey brothers and their parents, along with Seamus and his parents had all been buried in family plots at different cemeteries around the country. Neville's grandmother rested next to her husband in the cemetery behind his family's old manor house. Luna and her father had had their ashes mixed and then spread at sea joining his wife and her mother. But Bridgette had been placed in the school cemetery. Her parents had wanted her friends to be able to visit her grave. After the attacks, there was no place safe other than the school for that to happen. Two other stones, on either side of Bridgette's, marked the plots that her parents now held for themselves.

"Alright you two?" Harry asked as he and Ginny sat down in the grass with them. Hermione and Ron turned to look at them. They each had a smile on their face that was both happy and sad, and Hermione had a few tears on her cheeks.

"Yeah, we're ok," Ron replied reaching out to wipe a tear from Hermione's face with his thumb.

"What were you talking about?" Ginny asked them. Hermione smiled, and Ron blushed slightly.

"We were just thinking about the Valentine's Day Ball," Hermione replied smiling again with new tears forming in her eyes. "And that ridiculous performance you and Bridgette put on that night," she said to Harry. Ginny laughed at the memory.

"She slapped you really hard, Potter," Ginny said. Harry smiled at the memory of Bridgette's hand striking his face.

"Much harder, and she might have knocked me out," Harry replied. "I wish she was here to do it again," he added sadly. It was quiet for a few minutes before Ginny snorted in laughter again.

"What's so funny, Gin?" Ron asked. Ginny looked at him, her eyes dancing mischievously.

"I was just trying to figure out whether it was you or Hermione, whose eyes bugged out of their head the most when she kissed you, Ron," she replied. Ron's ears turned pink as Harry, Hermione and Ginny started laughing at him.

"I think it was Hermione, Gin," Harry said as he tried to stop laughing.

"What went through your mind when she did that, Hermione?" Ginny asked. Hermione got control of herself, and thought about Ginny's question for a second.

"Honestly, I was so shocked that I didn't really think anything until afterwards when she said she wanted to try again," Hermione replied.

"Well, we all know what you thought about that," Harry said, giving her a shove.

"Yeah we do, don't we?" Ginny added, picking on Hermione some more.

"I can't believe how much I miss her; do you think she is really waiting for us?" Ron asked softly, after it had gone quiet again.

"Yes, Ron, I do. I know she is," Ginny answered, pulling his head to her shoulder.

"How?" Hermione whispered.

"Don't you remember from the wedding?" Ginny asked.

"No," Ron and Hermione replied confusion on their faces. Ginny grinned at them.

"When I spent all that time in the hospital last spring," she said, "my spirit was in the chamber at the Ministry of Magic. I spent that whole time in front of the arch that Sirius fell through. I heard voices behind it and Harry's mum, Lily, came to me. Every time I went close to the veil, she would come to me and stop me. When Tom had you all, she was the one who opened the door for me to leave the chamber." Hermione and Ron looked at Ginny, the expression on their faces, somewhere between confusion, fascination, denial and belief.

"I've been there too," Harry said quietly. "The short time I was unconscious after fighting Voldemort, my spirit was there. My mum, dad and Sirius came to me as I stepped close to the veil.

"They were mist really; formed into shapes. I could tell one of them was a woman, and she had green eyes. I asked her if she was my mum, and the eyes flared. I asked one if he was my dad and one of the male shapes moved forward. When I said Sirius's name the last shape moved forward.

"I asked if I was supposed to come through the veil, and they moved back, the green faded from my mum's eyes. And then a voice in the chamber told me to go back. Then, I heard Ginny's voice coming from an open door at the top of the chamber. It was slowly closing. I ran for the door only just getting to it in time. The next thing I knew, I was back in the graveyard with Ginny."

Hermione had moved close to Harry while he was talking, she now rested with his arm around her, and her head on his shoulder.

"Thank you, both of you, for coming back," she whispered. It was quiet again for a while before Ron spoke up.

"Do you think we might see her ghost in the castle some time?" he asked. Harry sighed.

"I really hope not, Ron, because if we do that means she will not be waiting when we die." Ron looked at him along with Ginny. Hermione tried to sit up, but Harry, not wanting her to move away yet, held her tight.

"Please stay, Mione," he said quietly before explaining himself further. "I spoke with Sir Nicholas after Sirius died. I hoped for the same thing you three did a moment ago. A sorcerer must choose in life, when they die where they will go. Nick chose to stay here; he knows nothing of death, and what is beyond the veil. He has no communication with any of the people he has known who go beyond the veil. His life, if that is what it is, is not one I would choose.

"Bridgette once used a phrase, borrowed from Professor Dumbledore. Death is the next great adventure. I believe she would have chosen to go beyond the veil. I hope so, because if she didn't, then the day I die will be the last time I ever see her." Hermione had settled back down on Harry's shoulder again and wrapped her arms around his waist to hold him. Ginny and Ron watched Harry's face as he spoke.

"Bridgette would choose to go through the veil; we will see her when it is our turn," Ginny said firmly.

"When I get there," Ron said, grinning at Hermione, "I'm going to pay her back for that kiss at the ball."

"You best hope that I never hear about it, Love," Hermione replied, as she pulled away from Harry and moved towards Ron. "Don't forget we had the eternity symbol at our wedding. That is a long time to have me angry with you."

"I love you, Mione," Ron replied as she settled into his lap. Harry smiled at them as he pulled Ginny to him.

"Harry, did Bridgette ever get you back for that miserable old hag remark?" Hermione asked. Harry smiled and sadly shook his head.

"No, she didn't Mione."

"I would be concerned if I were you, Potter, she is going to have a long time to think about it." Hermione and Ron snorted at Ginny's comment.

"Thanks a lot, Gin." The four of them sat there in the quiet calm of the late morning for a long time. Harry eventually stood up and started cleaning the area around the headstones. Ginny joined him a moment later while Ron and Hermione watched. Harry's mind began to wander.

With school about to start things were changing again. There were a number of DA members who had been at the castle since the attacks, who were finished with school. Normally, they would not be able to stay. Dumbledore had gotten around this with Katie Bell, and Cho Chang. They were going to be assistant teachers this year.

Katie was taking over for Victor Krum as the assistant flying coach. Victor would be the head coach. Madam Hootch had decided to devote herself fully to the Order of the Phoenix until the war was over.

Cho Chang was going to be a second assistant with Tonks to Professor Lupin. Defense Against the Dark Arts was, unfortunately, going to become even more important than ever in their schooling. She was supposed to focus her energies with the students in years one through four.  
The rest of the DA members who had finished school, were joining the Order of the Phoenix. They would all be staying at 12 Grimmauld Place. Harry truly feared for them. They would all now be going on missions in the war, their lives becoming even more dangerous than they were on July 31st.

"Harry, what is that?" Harry snapped out of his thoughts. Ginny had stopped, and was pointing to where the cemetery backed up to the forest. Her voice had a slight tinge of alarm in it. Harry followed her hand with his eyes and felt his heart sinking. He walked over to Ginny and wrapped her in his arms. Hermione and Ron joined them; they also had seen what Ginny was pointing at.

"You can see it Gin?" Harry asked quietly.

"We all can, Harry," Ron replied. Harry closed his eyes, letting out a deep breath.

"That is a thestral," Harry said to them. "I am truly sorry that you can see it." Hermione took Ron's hand and pulled him towards the animal. She reached out to stroke its head, and the animal moved close to her; sniffing her hand. It moved closer and nuzzled her neck with its face.

"You know me, don't you?" Hermione asked. "You flew me to the Ministry of Magic didn't you?" The thestral snorted once at Hermione. "Thank you for carrying me," Hermione whispered to the animal, which nuzzled her neck again and then moved back into the woods.

"They're kind of horrifying and beautiful at the same time," Hermione remarked softly.

"Yes, I guess they are," Harry replied.

"I guess they would have to be, considering what is required to be able to see them," Ron said, before he pulled Hermione back towards Bridgette's tombstone. The four of them stood there for a minute before Harry spoke.

"I remember you, Bridgette," he whispered as he reached out to touch the stone. Ginny, Ron, and Hermione put their hands on the stone also.

"We remember you, Bridgette," Hermione said.

"We will not forget you, Bridgette," Ron added

"And we will see you when it is our time to come through the veil," Ginny said. They stood there for a minute longer before Ginny wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Let's go to the quidditch field. I talked Cho into at least watching while we play," Ginny said as she pulled the other three with her.

* * *

"So how do you want to do this?" Harry asked the assembled DA members.

"Cho are you going to play?" Katie Bell asked, as she stepped back into the role of quidditch captain. Cho shook her head.

"No, I'll just watch," she said quietly. Katie frowned, but didn't press the issue.

"Well then, I think Harry and Ginny should be captains and Seekers as they are the best at those positions. Harry you will have to give up your Firebolt for a Nimbus 2000, or 2001. After that, we can even out brooms once teams are picked. Oh and Ron cannot play Keeper, he has to be a Chaser or a Beater."

"Why do I have to give up my broom?" Harry asked. "Ginny is plenty good enough to beat me with it."

"Because I say so, Potter," Ginny replied, her eyes flashing at him playfully.

"Fine, I pick McBride, and I get his 2001 while he gets my Firebolt," Harry replied grinning at Ginny. He had just taken the second best Beater in the bunch, Fred and George may have been better at one point than Kelly and David, but they had not really played in a year. He had also put himself on the second best broom possible and put his Beater on the best broom you could get.

"Brilliant!" David McBride said. "I've wanted to try that broom since you put Kelly on it at tryouts last year." He shoved his broom at Harry and took Harry's from him.

"I want Kelly and George as Beaters. Kelly keeps her broom, and George gets Cho's broom. If you don't mind, Cho?" Ginny replied.

"Go ahead, George, it's in the broom shed," Cho answered. George bolted off after the broom, leaving Fred scowling at Ginny.

"What's wrong with me?" he asked. Harry was trying to figure out what to do. Ginny had taken the best Beater, Kelly, and kept her with the broom she loved. She had also taken George and put him on the best broom possible. He was in trouble already.

"I want Fred, he gets Ron's broom, and I get Katie, she gets to keep her broom," Harry replied.

"Hey!" Ron said.

"Hand it over little bro," Fred said reaching out for Ron's broom. Ron glared at Harry.

"Thanks a lot, I don't get to play Keeper, and I have to give up my broom."

"Sorry, mate." Harry shrugged at him.

"I'll take Zacharaias and his broom," Ginny countered.

"I want Ron, he gets either Fred or George's broom, and….he gets to play Keeper."

"Good one, Harry," Katie remarked from next to him. "We may be down on the brooms, but we still get the best Keeper in the school." Ginny was scowling at Harry's choice.

"Only if I get Justin, Ernie, and Anthony, and their brooms," she said. Harry groaned, Ginny had the top Chaser from Hufflepuff in Zacharaias, Justin and Ernie were backup Chasers from Ravenclaw and Anthony was the backup Keeper from Ravenclaw. Her whole team was very strong, and the worst broom in the bunch was a Nimbus 2000. He on the other hand was going to be stuck with Terry Boot and Michael Corner as two of his chasers, they were not bad, but they like Ron were going to be on Comets.

"Think you can keep them from scoring Ron?" Harry asked as he considered the offer from Ginny.

"What's the matter Ronnikins?" Ginny teased him. "Can't play without your Firebolt?" Her challenge sealed it.

"I only wish Ginny was playing Chaser so I could block her shots," Ron replied to Harry.

"Ok then, let's get started," Katie yelled to the group. The people who were going to watch started moving to the top box, discussing the relative strengths and weaknesses of the two sides.

"Bring it in you lot," Katie called to the players. "Oy, Lee, come here for a second."

"What did you want, Katie?" Lee asked her.

"Well you're commentating, so the deal is we'll play for two hours. Catching the snitch ends a game, but is only worth thirty-five points. However many games we get in, we get in. All other rules are the same. It will be up to each side's captain to call fouls."

"Ok, I guess I better get up in the box then," Lee said, after the rules were explained.

"Why do I get the feeling the only one I am going to have to call fouls on is my wife?" Harry leaned over and whispered to Ron as he watched Lee run off the pitch.

"You better not let her win Harry; she'll make you sleep in the bathtub or something if you do," Ron replied.

Harry mounted his broom. He had never been on a Nimbus 2001, _this was going to be interesting,_ he thought to himself.

_Just don't let her beat us. We don't want to listen to the screaming alone in the bathtub when the others are out in the sitting area,_ the voices said to him. Harry watched as the snitch was released, tracking it and then losing it in the distance, the bludgers were released, and then he and Ginny were gone.

Ginny slammed into him almost immediately.

"I'm going to beat you today, Potter," she yelled at him as they circled up into the air.

"I don't think so, Gin," Harry yelled back.

"Care to make a bet, Potter?"

"I think I have enough to worry about with you getting mad if you win, Gin," Harry replied. Ginny looked disappointed, she slowed down next to him. Harry slowed also.

"No challenges today, Harry, just you me and the snitch and the world does not end if I beat you." Harry smiled at her.

"I would like that a lot, Ginny." Ginny's eyes flashed at him again.

"So if I win, what do I get?" she asked.

"What did you want?"

"Share your mind with me tonight; I get to pick what you show me." Harry's hand slipped and he almost fell of his broom.

"You're trying to get me to throw the match, Gin," he replied

"No, because if you win, you get to pick what I show you." Harry grinned at her.

"And if we tie?" he asked.

"I'm sure we can think of something," Ginny replied, returning his grin.

"I'm not sure what the Seekers are doing up there, probably trying to decide where they're going to go and snog after the match," Lee Jordan was saying. "And there goes Bell off with the quaffle, over to Corner, to Boot back to Bell and she's crushed by a wicked bludger from Weasley, looks like a year off hasn't hurt him much.

_**"Potter!"**_ Ginny's voice exploded in Harry's mind.

_**"What, Gin?"**_ Harry replied. He was suddenly overwhelmed by a memory that Ginny let come to the surface. Harry's mind reeled, and his hand slipped off his broom for the second time that day. Harry shook his head, clearing it to see Ginny spiraling down to the ground.

_Why that…That…._ the voices screamed at him as Harry wrenched his broom around and down after Ginny.

"And there go the Seekers! At least one of them, looks like Potter….Erm….P1 has forgotten how to fly at the moment. P2 has the snitch in sight.

"Ginny screamed after the snitch trying not to laugh at what she had done to her husband a second ago.

_He is going to make us pay for this you know,_ the voices said to her.

_Does it matter? Either way we get to share memories tonight, and we know which one he will pick,_ Ginny replied as she reached her hand towards the snitch.

"Wow did you see her leave him up there?" Cho asked Hermione

"COME ON GINNY!" Hermione screamed, as Harry raced to catch up to her.

"Ha! Got you!" Ginny said to herself as she plucked the snitch out of the air.

"That was cheating!" Harry yelled at her, as he pulled along side of Ginny. Ginny turned to look at him her eyes dancing with fire.

"So call a foul, Potter," she said innocently. "Of course, I will demand that you tell them which memory you saw."

"And what if I do?" Harry replied. He was trying to be angry with her, but it was impossible when she looked at him like that.

_**"Well I really kind of wanted you to show me this one tonight,"**_ Ginny pushed a thought to Harry.

"And if you take away my win, well, then I guess I'll have to do without," she said out loud. Harry followed Ginny down to the ground to meet with the other players for the start of a new match.

"You can have that one Gin, but I'm going to win the rest of them. I promise you that," Harry whispered, as they touched down.

"Gezz, Harry, what did she do to you up there?" Katie asked a second later.

"Come on, mate, we're busting our tails down here with below standard brooms, and you're flying around with your tongue hanging out of your mouth," Ron said to him.

"Just start another match. She won't win again," Harry replied glaring at his wife. Ginny blew him a kiss before she  
let the snitch go.

"Come and get me, Potter." And then she and Harry were gone again.

"What did she do to him?" Katie asked Ron, as the players from both sides watched them fly off again.

"I have an idea, but you don't want to know," Ron replied, as he followed the battle going on between Ginny and Harry.

"Look out!" Zacharaias hollered, as Ginny and Harry wove in and out of the giant hoops on the tops of the goal posts. Ginny slammed into Harry pushing him into a post that he just missed hitting with a full head of steam.

"I think I'm just going to stand here and watch this one," Fred remarked, flinching as Harry sent Ginny into a barrel roll.

"Oy, what he said," George added.

"Whatever she did to him seems to have made him mad," Hermione commented to Cho, as they watched the battle in the air above them.

"She's brutal, isn't she?" Cho remarked, as she watched Ginny drive an elbow into Harry's ribs to keep him from getting the snitch.

"E really is a Nutter to ave married er," Victor remarked from behind both of them.

"When did you get here?" they both asked in surprise.  
"Just now," Victor replied not taking his eyes off of the aerial ballet going on above him. "Why are you not up there, Miss Chang?" he asked after a moment, glancing at Cho. Cho looked away from him.

"I don't want to fly anymore, Victor," she replied, her voice trembling.

"Let her be, Victor, she will fly again when she is ready," Hermione said, wrapping her arm around Cho.

"It vos only a question," Victor answered, lifting his eyes back to Harry and Ginny.

Harry reached out and grabbed Ginny's arm.

_That elbow was coming at our face!_ the voices hollered in indignation. Harry held on to Ginny so she could not get away from him. There was not very much difference between the brooms they were on, only a few knots or so in top speeds and maybe the fire bolt could be convinced to turn quicker; if you had the nerve to make it, Ginny did.

Ginny and Harry were both willingly in each others minds, not letting memories through from the other, but taunting each other.

_**"Is that the best you can do, Potter?"**_

_**"I missed on purpose, Gin."**_

_**"You expect me to believe that?"**_ Ginny was laughing at him.

_**"Believe what you want, Gin."**_

_There it goes,_ the voices screamed at Harry. The snitch had finally moved in the direction he wanted it to go. Harry let go of Ginny's arm and stopped as quickly as he could. Grabbing the tail of Ginny's broom as she went by, he pulled it to him sending her careening to her left. Harry dove to the right following the snitch to the ground.

"Oh boy!" George remarked, flinching as Ginny went spinning around like a top; then corrected herself and blazed for the ground trying to catch Harry.

"This is bad," Fred added as the snitch turned towards the group of twelve players who were standing in the middle of the field watching Ginny and Harry. The snitch began zigging and zagging as it hurtled towards them, with Harry trying to follow it through every turn.

"Move!" Katie screamed just before starting to run from the area.

Harry hurtled along behind the snitch, he knew Ginny was coming, and he was going to get creamed for sending her broom around like that on her. He reached his hand out and closed it around the snitch just as Ginny hit him, sending them both out of control and off of their brooms. They tumbled to the ground together landing in a heap at Ron's feet.

"Ginny!" Cho screamed grabbing hold of Hermione as they watched her and Harry tumble to the ground. Hermione watched the two of them roll to a stop at Ron's feet, her heart pounding. Every member of the DA who was in the box surged to their feet pushing their way to the railing.

_Please don't let them be hurt,_ the voices whispered fearfully in Hermione's head. She wanted to run to the field, but Cho was clinging to her neck as she watched the scene play out in front of them.

Ron looked down at the pile of tangled limbs that was Harry and Ginny.

"My head hurts, Potter," Ginny groaned, lying on the ground next to him.

"Mine too, Gin."

"Are you two ok?" Ron asked from above. Harry and Ginny both opened their eyes to see Ron looking down at them from over their heads.

"Why is he upside down?" Ginny asked.

"I don't know. Ron, why are you upside down?" Harry asked him.

"I think they're fine," Fred remarked walking into Harry and Ginny's view.

"He's upside down too," Harry said to Ginny. The two turned their heads to look at each other and broke into fits of laughter.

"Yeah, they're both just as nuts as they always are," George added. He picked up Ginny's broom and gave it to Ron, then gave Harry's to Michael Corner.

"You two are grounded for the rest of the day," Ron said, shaking his head at them.

"Says who?" Harry asked sitting up. His head spun in circles. "Wow, kind of like being drunk."

"Someone help me get these two up in the box where Hermione can keep an eye on them," Ron said, a second later.

"Why aren't they helping them?" Cho asked desperately as she watched Fred and George walk up next to Ron, all of them were just standing there looking down at Harry and Ginny. Hermione watched as Victor ran across the field towards them. She saw George bend down and take both of Harry and Ginny's brooms. Then both Harry and Ginny sat up, Ron appeared to be talking to them.

"Thank Merlin," Cho gasped, finally releasing her death grip on Hermione. "I'm going to kill both of them," she hissed a second later.

"Get in line, Cho," Hermione replied as the group moved back to their seats.

Ron and Victor herded Harry and Ginny up the stairs to the box; the two of them protesting all the way that they wanted to keep playing.

"Sit down, or I'll put you in a binding curse," Ron yelled at them. Ginny rounded on him, her hands on her hips, her chin stuck out defiantly.

"You just try it, Ronald Weasley," she snapped.

"Yeah, mate, try it," Harry replied, standing just behind Ginny.

"What is the matter with you two? Don't you think I suffered enough waiting for you to wake up the first time?" Cho lit into them. Harry and Ginny snapped their heads around to look at Cho. Tears streamed from her eyes as she continued to rant at them.

"You beg me to come watch, knowing that I'm scared to death of being here and then you behave like total idiots!"

Harry and Ginny's faces both turned white. Cho continued to glare at the two of them.

"WELL?" she thundered a second later causing everyone in the box to jump. Ginny recovered first.

"I'm sorry, Cho, Harry and I were just playing, and got carried away."

"Well maybe you should think about it a bit more next time," Cho replied angrily.

"Cho," Neville said quietly, as he moved next to her, placing his hand on her back, "they're ok sweetheart. You know there is only one way to play Seeker."

"No, Neville," Harry said. Finally recovering from his shock at Cho's temper, "she's right, we didn't need to play like that today. I think Ron is right Gin, maybe you and I should sit out the rest of the day."

"That's right you will," Ron said, mounting his broom. "Make sure they behave, Victor." He then flew off to join the game again.

"You both scared us half to death, I hope you're satisfied," Hermione said to Harry and Ginny.

"We're sorry; we were just playing to win," Harry answered looking at the ground.

"I know you were," Cho said quietly. "I've just had too much happen to me lately to have seen both of you tumble like that," Ginny and Harry walked over and hugged Cho.

"Cho, you need to fly again," Ginny whispered in her ear. "I don't want to be the reason you gave up what you love."

"I'm not ready yet, Ginny," Cho replied.

"Let me know when you are, I want to watch you," Ginny answered her.

"Thank you, Gin."

Harry and Ginny took a seat in the back of the box, watching the rest of the match. Ron had been forced to give up the Nimbus 2001 Harry had been riding, and things were pretty even. Harry was just starting to get into the game a little, listening to Lee Jordan's commentary, when Ginny pulled his face around to look at him.

_**"Potter, take me flying,"**_ she thought to him.

_**"You must have hit your head harder than you thought Gin, or did you forget they took away our brooms?"**_ Harry replied. Ginny smiled at him coyly.

_**"They'll kill us,"**_ Harry said to her when the image came into his head.

_**"Not if they can't see us,"**_ Ginny replied, pulling her wand subtly out of her pocket.

_**"I love you, Ginevra Potter,"**_ Harry answered her as she cast the spell over them.

Harry and Ginny stood up and moved through the curtains at the back of the box. Harry stepped over the rail onto the narrow ledge. Ginny joined him a second later standing with her back pressed against the rail, Harry stepped in front of her pressing his back up against her stomach, reaching back on either side of Ginny to hold the railing. His toes just dangling over the edge of the landing, Harry looked out over the open expanse in front of them; the ground over a two-hundred feet below.

Ginny wrapped her arms around Harry's neck stretching up to kiss him. She bit gently at his neck, reveling in the shudder she caused to go through him. Harry leaned back into her as hard as he could and let go of the railing, holding his arms straight out to the side. He and Ginny began to fall forward in the fashion of Muggle bungee jumpers.

"What happened to Harry and Ginny?" Neville asked. Hermione turned around and gasped as an image came into her mind.

Harry plummeted towards the ground with Ginny on his back changing shape as he fell, his neck elongating, his body growing. Powerful wings spread into the air catching them as they fell, arresting their descent mere feet above the ground and then propelling them both forward and back up high into the sky.

_**"See you later, Mione,"**_ Ginny called to her. Hermione's heart stopped racing as she watched them sailing away.

_**"I'm going to kill both of you,"**_ she answered, and then as the connection grew faint from the distance between them. _**"I want to try that."**_

Ginny laughed out loud as the last thought from Hermione reached her mind. She hung on tightly to Harry's long powerful neck as they blazed across the sky. She could feel the muscles in Harry's back beating his wings up and down between her legs. Ginny had always loved to fly, but this was better than any broom. Her heart raced at the closeness between her and her husband. She had thought she could never trust someone with her life like this after what Tom did to her, but Harry freed her. His love powered through every pain she had ever felt.

Ginny did not care that Tom was coming for her anymore, or that he was after Harry. She lived each day as if it was her last, surrendering to the need to give her love to this man. This man, who loved her with every fiber in his body.

Harry could feel Ginny's heart beating wildly in her chest against his neck. Her trust in him had been absolute as they plummeted to the ground while he transformed, even as he wondered if he would make it in time. His heart raced with that trust.

It was a trust that he returned blindly, Harry understood that some people cared about him only because he was the equal, but Ginny was not one of them and her love powered him. He had never known anything like it. His love for her had saved him from falling to Voldemort once, because he could not bear to die and leave her to him. But what she gave him in return since caused him to struggle every day to match her.

Harry sometimes felt like they were truly one being when she laid next to him on the floor or in their bed. His heart and breathing would slow down or speed up to match hers. He could stare into her eyes for hours on end, and the slightest glimpse of her flaming red hair could make him suck his breath in. He sometimes thought she had taken his soul with her kiss, as easily as a dementor would, while he stood there on trembling knees trying to recover his senses.

Now he felt her grip on him loosening, she pushed herself up on her knees on his back balancing there. Ginny spread her arms in the air, letting the wind catch her in the chest. This was true freedom she thought, as they raced high over the lake towards the castle. She wanted to battle with him again, feel his strength, make him chase her and chase him in return. Ginny pulled her wand from her pocket and threw herself off of Harry.

Harry's heart froze as he felt Ginny jump from his back; he dove after her and felt his body shrinking to the size of a phoenix as her spell hit him.

_WE CAN'T CATCH HER LIKE THIS!_ the voices screamed in fear. Harry watched in fascinated horror as Ginny transformed beneath him.

Her wings caught the air and she met him. They tumbled together, dragon and phoenix, struggling with each other as they battled for supremacy. Ginny broke away from him and streaked away.

Harry followed; she was a snitch that moved like light itself. He could never follow this on a broom. The difference between being a creature that flew, and one that rode a flying object could not be described. He finally touched her and spun the other way.

Ginny followed him chasing him through trees, under the bridge that spanned the stream and up to the castle. Together, they blazed around corners and under archways, just missing overhangs and abutments, in a game of tag that would have shattered the nerves of Josef Wronski

Harry led her towards an open window, streaking right through Dumbledore's office and out the open window on the other side. He just registered the surprise on the Headmaster's face as papers flew from his desk.

Ginny tagged him, turned and speed towards the Gryffindor tower; blazing through the open window of the common area of their flat, she circled the room once before dashing through the door into hers and Harry's bedroom. She landed on the bed and transformed, her wand came up and the door to the room slammed shut just behind the dragon that was chasing her. She hit Harry with an Engorgement charm as he transformed, returning him to his full human size and they crashed onto the bed together eyes locked on each other.

_**"My heart stopped when you jumped,"**_ Harry thought to her, as their lips meet.

_**"Shut up and kiss me, Harry,"**_ she answered. The two of them collapsed back onto the bed after sharing memories. Harry had never felt closer to Ginny in his life than he did now.

"Husband?" Ginny whispered to him.

"Yes, Gin." Ginny turned to him and pushed her thought into his mind. Harry could feel her soul crying, aching to be near him. He opened himself to her.

"Me too, Wife," he whispered as she clutched her hand on his shirt.

"Hold me forever, Harry?"

"I promise, Gin." Ginny moved into him and they fell asleep desperately clinging to each other.

* * *

Author's note:

I changed the points for catching the snitch, because I think it is silly to give that many for catching it. Quidditch is supposed to be a team game. At a hundred and fifty points for catching the snitch, you might as well only use Seekers and get rid of the other players.


	11. Chapter 11: Something Amiss

Please note the world of Harry Potter belongs to JKR. I'm only playing with her creation. Also the story image was a free download I found. Thank you to whomever it belongs. I will remove it immediately if asked.

* * *

Author's note:

As with, A Promise Kept and Harry Potter and the Blood Traitor, this is an older work that I am posting to help tide people over till my new works are ready. If I were to write this now, I would hit it with a pretty heavy editing hand. But I'm not writing it now and will be leaving it as is. Still, while it won't help this story, your comments will help my future work. So I will say it again, reviews are how you pay fanfic authors. I thereby challenge anyone who reads, like it or loath it to leave a review. I will do my best to respond to all signed reviews.

Also, I'm perfectly aware that with the title of the story and a quick google search you can find the whole thing. Certainly I can't stop you from doing so. Just know that I while I have not taken my works down from the old site, I no longer check anything there. If you want an answer to a question, you're going to have to contact me here.

Hope you like it.

Authors' note#2:

I suppose I should have expected this as my old work is going up. It was a very different life and more than five years since I said I was done with fan fiction. Now I'm back writing again. I'm on a new site with a new penname. A simple google search of the titles of my old work will direct you to mugglenet and the penname of huskers. So, I might as well say that yes, I use to post on mugglenet under the penname of huskers. Please read the bio there that directs you to find any new work as well as my old work here under the new penname of Sorcerer's Muse. Yes, I am one in the same. If you have any doubts that I am the same person and that all the work posted here is indeed mine, please go to mugglenet. Look up huskers' page and send an email with an appropriate code word of your choosing. I will then post that code word on my profile here to prove that I am the same person. **Note, I will not post anything vulgar or inappropriate.**

As always, thank you for reading my work.

Sorcerer's Muse

* * *

**Chapter 11:**

**Something Amiss  
**

* * *

Ron, Hermione and Ginny stood at the front doors of the castle waiting for the first students to arrive. After the attacks of that summer, Dumbledore and the Ministry were taking no chances with the Hogwarts Express. All students were arriving by Portkey, and the first ones were starting to come in.

"Ronald, I would speak with you," Professor Dumbledore said quietly from behind them. Ron started in surprise that Dumbledore had managed to sneak up on him.

_I wish I knew how he did that,_his first voice commented for the umpteenth time.

Ron had been working with the proximity detection spell that Harry had found, practicing with it daily. And he progressed to the point where if he was familiar enough with the person and they were close enough, he could actually identify them by the way they felt. Despite all of that, he had felt nothing coming until Dumbledore was there.

_It is starting drive us nuts,_the other voices agreed with the first.

"Now sir?" Ron asked, as another batch of students arrived.

"Yes, Ronald," Dumbledore replied moving away from the girls. Ron followed him.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," he called to them as he left.

"What do you suppose that is all about?" Ginny asked as she herded a group of students into the great hall. Hermione scowled as she watched Ron and Dumbledore disappear from sight.

"I don't know, but this is the second time this week that the Headmaster has pulled him aside like that. And he wouldn't tell me why last time," Hermione replied. Ginny looked at Hermione for a second.

"You didn't see anything in his mind?"

"You know the only one capable of breaking into Ron's mind when he doesn't want to share is Harry," Hermione answered, and then catching Ginny's next question before she asked it, she added, "The only time Ron uses his pensive is when he and Harry train, otherwise it is empty." Ginny picked up a tone of concern in Hermione's voice.

"Whatever it is, I'm sure Ron will tell us when it is time," she said touching Hermione's arm. Hermione placed her hand on Ginny's.

"Thanks, Gin."

"If it isn't our new Head Girl or should I say Head Wife?" Hermione turned around at the familiar drawl of Draco Malfoy.

"What do you want, Draco?" she replied coldly, surprised to see that he was without his body guards.

"A wonderful summer wasn't it?" Malfoy sneered at her. "I spent mine at the coast, lots of fun things to see, and you?" Hermione began to tremble with rage, refusing to open her mouth afraid of what might come out of it. Malfoy turned to Ginny.

"And St. Potter got married too. How does it feel to be his second choice Weasley? Or was it third, since your cousin dumped him too?"

"Malfoy are you really stupid enough to believe all that pureblood crap Tom spouts? Or are you keeping up an act so your father doesn't kill you," Ginny replied in a perfectly friendly tone.

"Tom who?" Malfoy replied, confused by the question and the fact that Ginny had not gotten upset in the least by his taunts.

"Tom Marvolo Riddle, Draco. If you rearrange the letters, you get, I am Lord Voldemort. Did you ever ask your aunt or father about his parents? His mother was a witch, but his father was a Muggle."

Draco's confusion had instantly been replaced by fear at the mention of the Dark Lord's name. Causing him to recoil away from Ginny and Hermione, and now tried to regain his bluster.

"How dare you say his name you little whore," he hissed, moving threateningly towards her. Hermione's hand moved like lightening to strike Draco's face. Ginny was faster, catching her before she struck him. She stood there in front of Draco less than a foot away, smiling benignly up at him.

"Draco, I suggest you think about which side you truly want to be on in this war. If I find you casting spells against me or anyone I care about, you will wish that it was Tom who was torturing you."

"Do you honestly think you scare me?" Draco replied glaring down at Ginny's upturned face.

"Look into my eyes, Draco," Ginny said to him.

_Oh dear,_Hermione said to the voices.

"Why?" Draco sneered at Ginny.

"What are you afraid of, Draco? Look into my eyes."

"Fine!" Malfoy growled moving so his body pressed against Ginny's, forcing her to tip her head back further as she met his gaze. "I'm looking, Potter." Hermione watched as Draco went white from the images flying through his mind.

_That was a mistake,_Hermione's first and third voice commented to her.

_Maybe we'll get lucky and she'll kill him,_the second voice remarked casually. Hermione found herself wondering why she was not appalled at the comment.

_At the very least, maybe he'll wet himself,_the voice added a moment later.

_**"Do you feel me, Draco?"**_ Ginny thought to him. _**"I can go anywhere, see anything I want. I can make you do anything I want and you are incapable of stopping me."**_

Malfoy was paralyzed unable to respond.

_**"Unlike Tom, I will not. I will let you be and choose what you want. Tom will make you a slave,"**_Ginny pushed the last thought to him, exited his mind, but stayed there with Draco pressed against her, her eyes locked on his.

"Do you fear me now, Draco?" she asked casually. Draco, while able to move again, couldn't tear his eyes from Ginny's as he slowly backed away from her. Hermione, not even in her animagus form, could smell the fear in his scent. "You must pick a side, Draco. If Tom wins, even if you are on his side, I have shown you your fate. There is only one way to escape it. Fight with me and pray that we win." Malfoy's eyes darted to Hermione, who was in complete shock at Ginny's behavior, and back to Ginny.

"I offer you friendship for the only time, Draco," Ginny paused a moment before continuing. Malfoy's face twitched slightly. "You don't ever have to be my friend Draco, but know this. When the end comes and we have won. If you have chosen to fight with Tom, I will take my vengeance for Bridgette and the others killed this summer on you, Draco," Ginny finished with a smile, a smile a dangerous as Voldemort's, before she dragged Hermione off to help some second years that had tumbled into the fountain when they arrived.

Hermione stumbled after Ginny, in disbelief over the fact that Ginny had stopped her from striking Malfoy and that she had stepped into his mind. She grabbed Ginny and spun her around.

_**"What did you show him!?"**_she demanded, her voice exploding in Ginny's mind. Ginny smiled and let the memory come to the surface.

Hermione gasped as the vision of Ginny, right after she assumed her human form, attacked and rescued Cho and Neville from the Death Eaters. The vision spun to what Ginny had said to Draco while in his mind.

_**"I guess if that can't scare him into switching to our side, then nothing will,"**_Hermione said to Ginny.

_**"His mind is weak, Hermione; he has never been anything other than a scared little boy."**_

_**"Ginny what have you and Ron been working on when you disappear into our room?"**_Hermione asked.

_**"We are looking for the key, Hermione. I am giving Ron my memories of when Tom possessed me,"**_Ginny replied. She felt Hermione flinch through their connection.

_**"Why didn't you ask me to help?"**_

_**"Because it is terrifying, for both Ron and I, we have to find the memories, they are buried like yours was of when you raised your wand at Ron. We find them and move them to the pensive to see them together trying to get a picture.**_

"Each one that we find, I have to put back, because they lead to each other. I can push them down, when I am awake, but when I sleep, they are so near the surface now that I can hardly close my eyes if I am not touching Harry.

"Ron says the same thing, you understand what I mean. Once you see something, it becomes a part of you too. Ron says that he needs to touch you to sleep anymore, Hermione. Harry can't help us with this until it is time for him to know. Ron and I wanted to spare you the fate we are suffering."

"Ginny, I want to help."

"You do Hermione, you keep Ron sane, it is worse for him than it is for me, he feels like he failed me. Don't make him let you do this, Hermione. Let him protect you,"

Ginny replied. Hermione turned away from Ginny trying to hide her tears. Ginny moved close behind her putting her hand on Hermione's back.

"Let him protect you, Hermione."

"I'll talk to him and I'll ask him to let me help, but I won't make him let me do this," Hermione replied wiping her face.

"Thank you, Hermione," Ginny whispered holding her tight from behind.

* * *

Hermione, her mind elsewhere, hardly paid any attention to the sorting ceremony. Her husband and Ginny, pushed so far that they both could not sleep anymore unless they were touching her or Harry. She did not understand the magic that had to be happening there, and why had she not noticed it with Ron.

She had sat with Ginny so many times in the past, what was it almost a year now, she knew what it did to her. But like Harry was unaffected by Ginny sleeping next to him, she was unaffected by Ron. She had managed to talk to Harry for a brief moment about it. He said that Ginny told him she dreamed next to him, but not when she was next to her or Ron. She was going to ask Ron about it tonight.

Hermione was vaguely aware that Professor Dumbledore was speaking, telling the students the usual start of term announcements. Her mind focused on him when she felt Ron squeeze her hand and she heard the name Collin Creevey.

"Dennis Creevey, Seamus Finnigan, Luna Lovegood, and Bridgette Weasley. Remember their sacrifice as they gave their lives for all of us. Braver students have never walked through the halls of Hogwarts," Professor Dumbledore finished.

Hermione looked around the great hall; of course everyone knew that they had been killed, except for maybe some of the first year students.

The Ravenclaw table and Gryffindor table were definitely the worst off for this, many of the students at each table openly crying. With many of the Hufflepuff students moving to be with their friends at those two tables. Hermione watched the Slytherin table closely. A number of them were at least upset. One or two even got up and moved to sit with friends from the Ravenclaw table.

_We're going to have to watch out for them,_the voices commented, as she took in Malfoy's reaction to this.

_Yes, I know,_Hermione replied.

_It could be a trick you know,_Hermione's third commented.

_Trusting soul aren't you?_ her second answered.  
From the one who hoped Ginny was going to kill Malfoy earlier, the first remarked.

_Anyone from any house could trick us, not just Slytherin,_the third replied.

_Yes, yes they could,_Hermione told them ending the conversation. She sadly shook her head, the innocent girl she had been, willing to trust anyone, was gone. Trust had to be earned now, and she wished it could be the other way.

Hermione tuned out what was happening around her thinking back to the incident with Malfoy that afternoon. She was slightly angry with Ginny for stopping her from hitting him; he had never deserved it more. But something she had said was really what was bothering her; she just couldn't put her finger on it.

Hermione focused her mind on all of the times she had been in Ginny's mind over the summer. Trying to recall all of the memories that she had seen, sorting through them was an arduous task. Ginny might not share the memories of her possession by Tom Riddle willingly with her, but Hermione was sure she had come across few on her own. She wanted to pick them apart in every little detail to see if she could find something.

* * *

Ron woke up the morning after the welcoming feast and rolled over to look at Hermione. It was the first time since training began against the Cruciatus curse that all four of them had not slept on the floor of their flat's sitting area. Hermione was watching him; it would have truly amazed both of them at how much it resembled what Harry and Ginny looked like at that very moment.

_**"Good morning Love,"**_Hermione thought to him.

_**"Mione,"**_Ron replied. Hermione could feel his happiness at her being the first thing he saw.

_**"Sleep well?"**_she asked.

_**"Yes."**_

_**"What did you dream about?"**_Ron smiled at her question.

_**"Some girl."**_

_**"Oh?"**_Hermione remarked haughtily.

_**"Yes, she was a bossy, know it all, with brown hair,"**_Ron remarked, knowing he was twisting her in a knot. Hermione's only reply was to scowl at him.

_**"And she is the most beautiful woman I have ever laid my eyes on, and I am madly in love with her."**_

_**"What was the dream about?"**_Hermione replied, her eyes dancing at the compliment. Ron let the memory of his dream come to the surface for Hermione to see. Hermione relaxed into his mind letting the emotions of the dream take over her senses. She laced her fingers into his and squeezed his hands tight.

_**"Your turn,"**_she whispered into his mind, as she allowed her memory to come to the surface of her mind for him. Hermione watched the smile come across his face and snuggled into his chest. After a few minutes she spoke to him.

"Ronald, Ginny told me what you and she are working on in here….Thank you for protecting me." Ron's only reply was his body tensing under her.

"In case you were wondering, it is not hurting me to sleep with you like it does when I sit with Ginny," she said after a minute. Hermione felt Ron's body relax again. They were quiet for a while before she spoke again.

"Love, I have a few memories from the times I have been in Ginny's mind that are from Tom. No, Ginny did not give them to me on purpose." Hermione caught his question before he could ask it when she felt him tense under her again. "You know that many times you find stuff by accident."

"Yes I do, Mione," Ron sighed in reply. Hermione pushed herself up on the bed straddling over his waist she laced the fingers from each of her hands into his and leaned down so their faces were inches apart staring directly into his eyes.

"I found something, Ronald. I'm not sure what it is. It is smaller than the spark of life in the death curse, but it is there. Help me look at it, both of us together in my mind."

Ron looked at her hovering above him, beautiful beyond anything that mattered to him. He would do anything for her, and she was looking at him in desperation right now. Ron knew this would be horrible, but he had no choice.

_**"Show me, Love,"**_ he thought to her. A moment later, Hermione knew the terror that he had tried to save her from.

* * *

Harry walked back into the flat after the first day of class trailed by Ron and Hermione. Ginny was already there sitting in front of the fire. Harry sat down next to her and pulled her onto his lap with him.

"What a miserable day," he said, kissing her forehead.

"That bad?" Ginny asked.

"Yes."

"What happened?"

"I haven't seen you since breakfast," Harry replied, smiling at her.

"What are you after, Potter?" Ginny said, teasing him.

"I'm going to be sick," Ron commented from the other side of the room.

"Be quiet, at least you spent most of the day with Hermione," Ginny snapped at him.

"Little touchy aren't they?" Ron asked Hermione with a smile. Hermione watched Harry and Ginny quietly. She knew what they felt. Like her and Ron, Hermione believed Harry and Ginny had truly been born for each other. The intensity of the love they shared sometimes even amazed even her.

Hermione had seen the memory Ginny had of the last battle with Tom, the anguish that Ginny had felt when she believed Harry to be dead was almost more than Hermione could take. She had watched the memory unfold as Ginny lay on Harry's chest whispering softly to him, and was convinced, she felt Ginny actually slipping away.

Hermione believed that if Harry had not woken up, that Ginny might have died with him in the field that night. She understood it, because she was unsure her spirit could carry on without Ron. She might be able to live if Harry and Ginny were still here with her, but if they were all gone; she would not be surprised to fall asleep and never wake again.

"Come Love, we will talk with them later," Hermione said, pulling him towards their bedroom.

* * *

"Ronald," Hermione said as they sat together doing their transfiguration essay, "When are you going to tell me what the Headmaster has been pulling you aside for?" Ron finished writing out the sentence he had been working on, put down his quill and stared at the parchment.

"He has just been making sure I know all of the news about attacks, Mione. Things are out of place right now, and the two of us are trying to figure out why," Ron answered her after a few moments. Hermione considered his answer.

"It's the prophecy Mione, I need to come up with a plan, and it needs to be soon."

"What can I do to help you?" she asked, placing her hand on his. While Ron didn't reply for quite some time, Hermione could tell he was thinking about something.

"Mione, this morning, when you were telling me about finding some memories of Voldemort possessing Ginny from the times you have been in her mind."

"Yes?" Hermione asked, surprised at the change in direction of the conversation.

"You called him Tom, not Voldemort, why?" Hermione looked at Ron.

_Did we really do that?_the voices asked her.

_Yes we did,_Hermione replied.

_Why does it matter if we called him Tom or Voldemort?_her second asked. Hermione could not come up with a satisfactory answer.

"I don't know, Love," she said to Ron. Ron scowled, his fingers drummed impatiently on the table.

"Mione, will you help me look at the memories from this morning again?" he whispered.

"Yes, Ron."

* * *

Harry and Ginny were sitting on the couch in front of the fireplace in their flat, playing a game of chess. Books for classes and rolls of parchment with half finished homework were strewn about along with their dishes from dinner.

"Gin, Ron mentioned planning a surprise for Hermione's birthday this year." Harry watched Ginny's eyes light up at the idea.

"The 19th will be here pretty soon, won't it?" Ginny replied. "What did you two have in mind?"

"I'm not to sure. But we could use the disguise of a DA meeting as cover for a surprise party for her."

"I like it," Ginny answered. A few minutes later Ginny stood up and pulled Harry to their bedroom. She led him to a chair, pulling it away from the table.

"Sit down and close your eyes, Harry." Harry looked at Ginny, confusion and a bit of wariness on his face.

"Why?" Ginny glared at him. Harry didn't move. Ginny pointed at the chair.

"I command you to sit down and close your eyes," she said to him playfully. Harry grinned at her and sat down.

"As you wish," he replied. Harry listened as Ginny opened a dresser drawer and rummaged through it.

"You better not be peeking," she snapped at him. Harry didn't answer and a moment later, he felt Ginny walk back over and kneel in front of him.

"Hold out your hands." Harry did as she told him. "Palms up and open, Harry." Harry turned his hands over and opened them. He felt her place a package in them a moment later.

"You may open your eyes she whispered." Harry looked down at his wife's face, her eyes were radiating in anticipation. "It was supposed to be for your birthday."

Harry looked at the package wrapped in brilliant red paper. He had forgotten about his birthday. There was a stack of gifts in the corner that had yet to be opened. He had not been ready for it yet.

"Open it," Ginny urged him as she reached up to wipe his cheek. Harry carefully pulled the paper off of the box, and lifted the cover.

"A wand?" he asked.

"You cannot use your wand to fight Tom," Ginny said quietly to him. Harry watched Ginny her anticipation was so heavy he could feel it radiating from her. She reached up and took the box from him removing the wand and holding it there for him to take.

"Professor Dumbledore helped me make it. The feather is from my tail," she whispered to him. Harry's eyes went wide.

To the best of Hermione and Dumbledore's knowledge, no sorcerer had ever taken the form of a magical creature before. But Ginny's animagus form was that of a phoenix, and Harry's was that of a Hungarian Horntail dragon. They had both found, so far, that in their animagus form they had all of the magical powers of the creature whose shape they took. But a wand, this was too much to think about. Would it work? Wands chose their owners, not the other way around. Would it work for him, would it work at all?

"Try it; I won't be mad if it does not work," Ginny urged him. Harry looked at Ginny's smiling face.

_**"Hold me forever, Ginny?"**_Harry asked her.

_**"Yes, Harry,"**_Ginny's reply came back to him. Harry reached slowly to take the wand from Ginny. His hand closed around it, and a surge of heat exploded from it into his hand and throughout his body.

"It's hot, Gin," Harry whispered in awe. Ginny's smile radiated directly into Harry's heart as he took the wand from her. Harry pointed the wand at the fireplace, almost before he thought of the spell the logs began to float into the air. Harry set the logs down, and pointed the wand at the wall. The crushing spell erupted from it blasting a hole clean through the stone.

_"Repairo!"_Harry muttered and all of the dust and tiny stone pieces flew back into place. The wall looked like it had never been touched. Harry turned back to Ginny she looked like she was ready to burst.

"Thank you."

"You're happy with it?"

"I am happy that you have this much love for me," Harry replied taking her in his arms.

"I cannot express my love for you with gifts or words, Harry," Ginny whispered, clinging to him.

"I can feel it Ginny, I see it in your eyes. I only hope you feel mine in return."

"Show me the dream, Harry. The one of our future," Ginny whispered.

"As you wish," Harry replied and he let her in. Harry felt Ginny's body melt into his as the image flowed through their minds.

"Yes, Husband, I feel your love for me," Ginny murmured into his chest.

Harry and Ginny turned as Ron and Hermione knocked loudly on the door calling anxiously to them.

"What is it?" Harry yelled back.

"We just heard an explosion of some sort from out here, are you two alright?"

"Yes we're fine; you can come in if you want," Ginny replied. Ron and Hermione cautiously opened the door and entered the room. Each looking around to see if they could find the cause of the noise they had heard.

"Erm….did either of you two hear it?" Ron asked.

"Hear what Ron?" Harry replied, smiling knowingly at Ginny. Hermione and Ron both looked at the two of them incredulously.

"Come on, you can't tell me you didn't hear that crash a few minutes ago. Harry and Ginny both did their best to give them blank, unknowing looks.

"Can't say we did, Mione," Ginny replied, without so much as a hint of deception in her voice. "What did it sound like?"

"It sounded like…." Hermione stopped; looking for the right words. Harry had quietly slipped his new wand behind Ginny and was pointing it at the wall by their bed.

BOOM!

The spell hit the wall blasting a deep gouge into it sending shards of rock and dust into the air.

"BLOODY HELL!" Ron bellowed as he and Hermione erected shield spells. Even Ginny, who had felt Harry moving his wand behind her, flinched.

"Like that?" Harry asked them, as they stared at the hole in the wall. "Repairo!" he muttered and then watched as the wall repaired itself. "Like my new wand?" he asked nonchalantly as Ron and Hermione looked back and forth between where the crushing spell had hit and Harry.

"Harry that was one of the most powerful blasts I've ever seen from you," Hermione said quietly. Harry held his new wand out to her.

"Ginny thought I needed a different one, as I can't fight Voldemort with mine. Go ahead, give it a try."

"I'm not sure that will work, Harry," Ginny interjected into the conversation. Harry looked at her a puzzled expression on his face.

"Why not, Gin?"

"Well, when I first approached Professor Dumbledore about making you a wand with one of my tail feathers." Harry could not help but notice the looks of disbelief on Ron and Hermione's faces. "He thought it was a good idea for you to get a new one considering the whole brother wand to Tom's and everything.

"We didn't know if it would work or not, so we made arrangements for Mr. Olivander to come to the school if the wand was no good for you. Obviously, that got changed when the attacks occurred.

"The truth is Professor Dumbledore and I didn't have much luck with it. In fact neither of us have ever got such poor results from using someone else's wand as we did trying to use that thing. I really didn't expect it to do much for you. Mr. Olivander is going to be disappointed when he hears his services are not needed."

"Ginny are you telling me that you made this wand with one of your tail feathers from your animagus?" Ron asked in disbelief. Harry watched Hermione waving the wand at the pillow on Harry and Ginny's bed, not very happy that it was only feebly flopping over and not flying into the air. She angrily dropped the wand, and reached her hand out to the pillow.

_"Wingardium leviosa!"_the pillow lifted into the air floating easily for as long as Hermione cared to keep it there.

"Yes, Ronald. I am," Ginny replied, smiling serenely at him.

"Let me see that thing, Mione," Ron said to her, reaching out his hand to take the wand. Harry sat down in the chair with Ginny in his lap and watched the two of them take turns with the new wand, neither had much luck. Finally, Ron tossed it to Harry.

"As long as it works for you, I guess that is all that matters," he remarked, as Harry caught it.

"I would say that it works quite well for Harry, Ronald," Hermione put in, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

"Yeah," Ron replied, as he flopped down next to her.

"Gin, you never cease to amaze me," Hermione said to her.

"Thank you, Mione," Ginny replied happily.

"Ginny, what was it like making the wand, was it hard?" Ron asked after a minute.

"No, it wasn't really hard," Ginny replied, blushing slightly.

"What?" Hermione asked, apparently catching something that only another girl would in Ginny's answer.

"Well, it is not exactly fun to be plucked," Ginny answered, her face turning redder by the second. "My bum hurt for a week." Harry, Ron and Hermione burst into laughter as Ginny shifted on Harry's lap obviously remembering the discomfort.

"Watch it, Potter, that new wand won't help you one bit if you make me mad," Ginny growled at Harry. Harry tried to stop laughing, and managed it for the most part until Ron yelped from across the room. Harry saw him jump up rubbing his bum, Hermione had obviously pinched him.

"Sorry, Love, but I thought I would see how you would react if someone plucked you," Hermione managed to say between giggles, and obviously not sorry at all. Harry lost it again, this time Ginny joined in.

A second later a snarling male lion was pinning Hermione to the ground. Hermione waved her wand at Harry and Ginny transfiguring them into lions, and then changed to her animagus form also. The wrestling match raged back and forth finally ending with the three of them pinning Ron to the floor.

"Urrrgh get off me you flea bags," Ron gasped from under them after he and Hermione had changed back to their human form. Harry sat bag on his haunches and waited for Hermione to change him back, but Ginny just flopped down heavily on top of Ron, knocking his breath out.

"Come on Mione, change her back already," Ron gasped.

"Oh alright, Love," Hermione sighed and waved her wand at Ginny. Ron immediately rolled her over and pinned her to the ground only to have Harry pounce at him. Harry was in mid leap when Hermione changed him back to his human form, causing him to land in a heap about a foot short of Ron.

"Graceful," Ron commented as Harry rolled over on his back.

"Thanks a lot, Mione," Harry said, rubbing his elbow. "Keep that up and I'll haul you up in the sky and we'll see if cats always land on their feet." Hermione shot Harry a look, but smiled at him a second later

"Let me up you git!" Ginny huffed at Ron. Ron clambered to his feet and pulled Ginny with him.

"I love you too, Gin." He said with a smile. "I really can't believe you made a wand with your own tail feather." Ginny blushed. Harry pulled her to him again kissing her lightly on the lips.

"Thank you, Gin,"

"You're welcome, Harry," she replied. Harry looked up to see Hermione was holding another one of his gifts from the pile in the corner.

"Would you open ours next?" she asked quietly. Harry paused for a moment.

"Go on, Harry, it's time," Ginny said giving him a squeeze around the middle. Harry sat down on the floor, pulling Ginny with him.

"Why don't you bring the rest of them over too, Hermione," he said settling in.

* * *

Author's note:

Did Ron snap Voldemort's wand in half at the end of Blood Traitor? For purposes of this story no, he did not. Voldemort came to that battle with someone elses wand.

A question I would like answered, is, how Voldemort ever got his original wand back to begin with after he tried to kill Harry as an infant? I thought it was the Order and Aurors who showed up first at the scene of the crime. I would think they would have looked for the wand of the criminal and found it and destroyed it. I guess not though because the dude has it back now.

Also, this will be the last chapter to go up until after the mods start reviewing chapters again after the release of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. So, until then I hope this tides you over.


	12. Chapter 12: Bluff Discovered

Please note the world of Harry Potter belongs to JKR. I'm only playing with her creation. Also the story image was a free download I found. Thank you to whomever it belongs. I will remove it immediately if asked.

* * *

Author's note:

As with, A Promise Kept and Harry Potter and the Blood Traitor, this is an older work that I am posting to help tide people over till my new works are ready. If I were to write this now, I would hit it with a pretty heavy editing hand. But I'm not writing it now and will be leaving it as is. Still, while it won't help this story, your comments will help my future work. So I will say it again, reviews are how you pay fanfic authors. I thereby challenge anyone who reads, like it or loath it to leave a review. I will do my best to respond to all signed reviews.

Also, I'm perfectly aware that with the title of the story and a quick google search you can find the whole thing. Certainly I can't stop you from doing so. Just know that I while I have not taken my works down from the old site, I no longer check anything there. If you want an answer to a question, you're going to have to contact me here.

Hope you like it.

Authors' note#2:

I suppose I should have expected this as my old work is going up. It was a very different life and more than five years since I said I was done with fan fiction. Now I'm back writing again. I'm on a new site with a new penname. A simple google search of the titles of my old work will direct you to mugglenet and the penname of huskers. So, I might as well say that yes, I use to post on mugglenet under the penname of huskers. Please read the bio there that directs you to find any new work as well as my old work here under the new penname of Sorcerer's Muse. Yes, I am one in the same. If you have any doubts that I am the same person and that all the work posted here is indeed mine, please go to mugglenet. Look up huskers' page and send an email with an appropriate code word of your choosing. I will then post that code word on my profile here to prove that I am the same person. **Note, I will not post anything vulgar or inappropriate.**

As always, thank you for reading my work.

Sorcerer's Muse

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**Chapter 12:**

**Bluff Discovered**

* * *

Ron woke up early the day of Hermione's birthday and climbed carefully out of bed so he did not wake his sleeping wife. He showered quickly and exited the bedroom; sitting down at the table in the dining area of the flat with his chessboard and the newspaper. Ron studied the board for a moment and then moved the white king's bishop taking the black queen's knight. It was a move he had been contemplating for two days. He then settled in with the paper and waited for the voices to make their move.

Ron had to smile sadly for a second. If Bridgette or Luna could see him now they must be laughing he thought. Ron Weasley reading the paper, if someone didn't know better they might have thought he and Hermione had switched bodies or something.

He set the paper down angrily after twenty minutes or so; there was nothing, not one single attack. There had not been in almost a week. Ever since the attacks on Harry's birthday things had been going well for the Order and the Ministry.

Right after those attacks, Voldemort had launched many more. Never at undefended targets though. He always sent his Death Eaters at places where they were sure to run into members of the Order, Aurors, or Unspeakables.

Dumbledore didn't understand why Voldemort was moving in the manner he was. He had always gone after the weak first, and now he was attacking the strong. The Death Eaters had been paying a very heavy price for those attacks. The Phoenix charm was changing the tide of the war.

On top of that a number of successful raids by the Ministry and the Order had taken place. As no breakouts had occurred since Harry's birthday, Azkaban, even without the dementors as guards, was getting full. Many of the Death Eaters who had been captured had already been tried for their crimes. Some of them had even been sent through the arch in the Death Chamber, many more were given life sentences. And now the attacks had stopped.

Things were going well, too well in Dumbledore's opinion. Ron had to agree with him. The thing that had puzzled both of them the most was Voldemort not attacking the Hogwart's Express when it ran from King's Cross Station to Hogsmead village that fall.

Dumbledore and the Ministry had staged an elaborate trap. Convinced that an attack would occur, they had let the train run as normally happened every year. But the moment it had left, Aurors, Unspeakables, and members of the Order apparated onto it. Every student had, had a hair plucked from their head, and been sent by portkey to the school. It had taken ten minutes to accomplish this task, twelve had been allotted.

Once the students had been off loaded, each of the Aurors, Unspeakables, and Order members had dropped the hair into a vial of polyjuice potion and drank it; changing a train-full of adults back into the train-full of children it was supposed to be. They had then waited for the attack they expected. It had never come.

The last thing that was bothering Ron and Dumbledore was none of Voldemort's inner circle had been so much as glimpsed at any of the battles that had occurred.

_Well we wouldn't show up either if we knew the death curse could be used against us on sight,_the voices said to Ron.

_Are you going to make a play or not?_he asked.

_We're getting there,_they replied.

Ron thought about the comment the voices had made. They had a point. One thing that had been noticed in all of the fights so far, was that none of Voldemort's followers were able to perform the Phoenix charm. The Ministry thought it was because no one was teaching them how.

Ron thought there was another reason. As difficult as it was for someone who did not want to cause pain to cast an unforgivable curse, he figured it was that difficult for an evil person to cast the Phoenix charm. Ron was of the opinion that Voldemort, despite his great ability and power might never be able to do it. Dumbledore had agreed with him.

Ron turned back to the chessboard again, trying to figure out what move the voices would make. The division of his mind into two players, as he had explained it to Harry, was not exactly what was going on.

Ron, if he chose to, did have the ability to hide things from the voices. But unless he chose not to look for it, they could not hide anything from him. The integrity of the game depended on him not cheating the voices out of their secrets.

After each game, he would examine what they had done, and use it to his advantage next time. By hiding his plans from the voices, he was forcing them to come up with a new plan every game, Because there were three of them, they were still figuring out what he was going to do every time, but it was getting harder and harder for them.

The game he had played against Harry, Hermione, Ginny and Dumbledore that summer had allowed him to put almost all of his ability together. His four opponents had thought they were only playing him. In fact, Ron had been two players that day, yet that wasn't what he was truly capable of. He had wanted to work with the voices, but not give them everything he had been working on, on his own.

Even in this decreased capacity, Ron had countered each move Dumbledore and the others had made within seconds of their instructions to the chess pieces. Dumbledore had been exasperated and thrilled at the same time.

_Move our queen's bishop; take your king's side castle,_the voices said to him. Ron told the piece to move and studied the board; his queen was in danger now. Not right this instant, but he was going to have to scramble to save it. The brilliant play that always came if the other side was good enough had just happened.

Ron wasn't too disappointed at his dilemma. He had predicted it a few moves ago, but had been unable to figure out how this whole scenario would work out. He had wanted the voices to make the move they did so he could play it to its conclusion.

Ron made his counter quickly, and waited. He was pretty certain, as he scrambled to keep both his king and queen in the game, that it would move fast for a few minutes. He had been on this path for a while now. Even though he had put the queen at risk, something kept telling him that he had to keep her in play to ultimately win the game. The voices gave their instructions to Ron for their next move and he instructed the piece to move.

"Damn!" Ron whispered under his breath as three plays later he was forced to give up his queen to save his king. He had been close that time, mounting an attack, pushing the black side into a defensive postion. One play later he had been in trouble and now the game, while not technically over, was a lost cause. Ron studied the board looking at what he had done wrong. He had most of his pieces left, having lost two pawns, a castle his queen and a bishop. The other side though had lost a knight, bishop and all but one of its pawns before it had made the decisive move of the game.

_We let you think you were winning,_the voices said to him.

_I know, Ron replied. You let me think I was safe, and lured me…._Ron's voice trailed off as he looked at the newspaper. His mind turned back to an overheard conversation between two Slytherin students complaining that there would be no Hogsmead visits this year.

_We need to go see Dumbledore,_ the voices said to him. Ron didn't answer as he was already on his way out the door.

* * *

"Be careful now," Harry said to Hermione as he marched his blindfolded friend up the steps to the top box on the quidditich field. Hermione stumbled on the first step, and then slowly started feeling her way up the rest of them.

"This would be a lot easier if you let me take the blindfold off you know."

"But not nearly as much fun, and if I let you do that, you might figure out what your birthday present is."

"Well wouldn't that be better than me breaking my neck going up the stairs?" Harry caught her as she stumbled a second later.

"If you would quit arguing, and just pay attention to getting up the stairs you would be fine," he replied. "Here, hold onto me," he said moving in front of her one step up. Harry took her arms and wrapped them around his waist so she had to press up against him. He then started to move carefully up the steps again.

"Ginny is going to kill me." Hermione laughed from behind him.

"This was her idea, it's Ron I'm worried about," Harry replied.

"Ron is not jealous of you and I being close, Harry."

"I know, and neither is Ginny. I'm more worried about what he'll think of this little gift when he sees the memory in your mind."

"What are you planning to do to me, Harry?"

"Just wait, careful this is the last step," Harry said as he led her through the curtains at the top of the box. "Now, don't move an inch, Hermione."

Harry quickly cast the invisibility spell over the both of them and then climbed over the railing of the box.

"Harry?" Hermione whispered, concerned that he was no longer near her.

"You can take the blindfold off now, Mione." Hermione took the blindfold off and looked around to figure out where she was. When she realized where Harry was standing she let out a gasp.

"Get back here before you fall," she snapped at him. Harry just smiled.

"I thought you wanted to try this?"

"Try what?"

"This," Harry replied as he fell backwards off the ledge.

"HARRY!" Hermione shrieked at him. Rushing to the edge, her heart leapt into her throat as she watched him fall away from her turning over in the air and transforming at the same time. Harry's wings caught the air and he flew back up to the box. Transforming again as his back legs touched the ledge, his front legs turning into hands that grasped the railing tightly.

"Scared you, didn't I?" he asked with a grin. Hermione's face had turned white, and now color rushed back to it.

"You are the biggest prat I have ever met, Harry James Potter," she snapped at him smacking his arm as hard as she could.

"Careful Mione, you wouldn't want me to fall again would you?" Harry teased pretending to slip. "And I thought Ron was the biggest prat you knew."

"Just get back here, what kind of birthday present is it when you scare me half to death." Harry laughed at her.

Hermione opened her mouth to yell at him again, but Harry beat her to it.

"Ginny said you told her you wanted to try this." Hermione stopped, her mouth hanging open, remembering the vision of Ginny and Harry plummeting towards the ground and then flying off into the distance.

"I also told her I was going to kill both of you," she finally replied stepping closer to the railing.

"Are you coming or not?" Hermione glared at him a moment and then before she lost her nerve, she quickly climbed over the rail and stood on the edge. Harry moved in front of her and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Ready?"

"Mmph," she squeaked in reply.

"It's best if you keep your eyes open," Harry said to her. "And it would be good if you didn't choke me." Hermione relaxed her grip around his neck a fraction. Harry let go of the rail and fell forward.

"AAAAIIIIEEEEEEEE!" Harry laughed at Hermione's scream as they plummeted to the ground, his wings catching the air and propelling them forward and back up. He flew her high up into the sky and out over the lake.

Hermione tried to catch her breath, flying was exhilarating and terrifying to her all at the same time. She loved to ride on the back of Ron's broom and feel her heart pounding in her chest against his back as she held on for dear life. This was close to the same.

Harry floated lazily across the sky. Hermione was not Ginny. She held on tightly the whole time, laughing in joy at the marvel of flying one moment, and screaming in fear the next. Harry eventually headed up to the top of the divination tower and landed, carefully changing back to his human form as his feet touched down.

"Did you have fun?" he asked as he turned around.

"Yes, thank you," Hermione replied giving him a hug and a quick kiss on the cheek."

"Good," Harry replied, leading her to the trap door. He opened the door; and playing the role of the gentleman held it for her so she could go first.

"You are still a prat, you know."

"Am I forgiven?" he pouted at her.

"I'm not Ginny, that won't work on me, Harry," she said playfully to him. Harry continued to pout at her. Hermione rolled her eyes. "Fine, you're forgiven," she said smacking his arm again. Harry grinned at her.

"Come on then, we're late for the DA meeting," he said taking her hand and pulling her along with him.

Harry walked along the hallway with Hermione on his arm. It had been quite the ordeal to come up with a way of getting her to the Room of Requirement instead of the Apparation Training Room for the meeting. The three of them, Harry, Ron and Ginny, knew she would know something was up the moment they told her the room had been switched. Finally, Ginny had hit on the idea of Harry taking her flying as a birthday surprise. He would land on the top of the Divination tower when they were done. That would force them to walk by the Room of Requirement to get to the Apparation Training Room for the DA meeting. Neither Harry nor Ginny mentioned the part about jumping off of the top box to Ron. They wanted to see his face when Hermione showed him the memory.

As they walked by the door to the Room of Requirement and turned the corner, Harry stopped suddenly and tensed his body.

"What's the matter, Harry?" Hermione asked, alarmed at the change in his demeanor.

"Peeves," Harry whispered, nodding his head. Harry didn't know what the twins could have done to get the poltergeist to go along with this, but he had a feeling that there was going to be a lot dung bombs and Weasley's Wizard Wheeze's fireworks going off in the halls in the near future.

"He hasn't seen us yet," Hermione hissed pushing him against the wall. Harry was really having a difficult time keeping a straight face, but he managed it well enough, knowing Ginny would let him have it if Hermione guessed before he managed to get her in the Room of Requirement.

"What do you suppose our chances of another free pass are?" he asked.

"Slim to none," Hermione replied watching the poltergeist bobbing slowly towards them.

"Quick," Harry said, pulling her with him, "The Room of Requirement is just back around the corner. Harry pushed Hermione around the corner and through the door; closing it quietly behind him. He turned around in the darkness and started laughing.

"I feel like I'm in first year, running from Filch again," he sniggered. Hermione started to laugh with him. They calmed down after a second or two. Harry was really glad it was so dark in the room because he was smiling much too broadly now to keep the surprise going any longer in the light.

"Hermione," Harry said, grabbing her by the shoulders and spinning her around so she was facing into the room.

"Arrgh, what are you doing, Harry?" Hermione hissed as loudly as she dared, still afraid that Peeves was in the hallway outside the door.

**"HAPPY BIRTHDAY HERMIONE!"**

The DA roared as the lights came on in the room followed by a flash from a camera.

"Oh that will be good picture," George commented, walking up to Hermione.

"This one will be better," Fred said, as he quickly popped a canary cream in Hermione's open mouth. A second later, Hermione had sprouted yellow feathers over her whole body, with the words, Birthday Chick, spelled out in purple feathers to liven up the color scheme.

"Congratulations Harry, I think we may make a prankster out of you yet," George said, clapping him on the shoulder.

Hermione, finally recovered enough to say something, whirled around to face Harry.

"TWEET TWEEETER TWEET," she squawked at him. The laughter in the room was merciless, and Harry sank to the floor holding his sides, at the expression in Hermione's eyes as her hands clapped over her mouth.

"I say Gred, the sound effects are really starting to come around on those," George remarked.

"I don't know Forge; I can still tell it's Hermione squawking away." Fred laughed in reply. Harry struggled to his feet hiccupping from laughing so hard. He pulled Hermione to him and hugged her as the feathers molted off of her.

"Happy Birthday, Mione," he sniggered.

"Harry James Potter, you are a prat," Hermione replied joyously, smacking him on the arm again. Harry flinched under the punch.

_That's three now, we're going to have a bruise from that you know,_the voices remarked to him.

_She does have a pretty good punch, doesn't she?_Harry replied rubbing his shoulder.

_Maybe we can ask Malfoy about it. She nearly laid him out third year,_they said. Harry smiled at the memory.

"Hi Love," Ron said coming up behind her. Hermione spun around. Throwing her arms around Ron's neck she planted her lips on him in a kiss reminiscent of the one she gave him at the, Ball and Chain Party, that was thrown in this same room not so long ago.

"Careful Hermione," Cho hollered from across the room. "You're starting to put on more and more graphic public displays of affection." Hermione ignored her and kept right on snogging Ron to the cheers of the group, until he finally broke away from her gasping for breath.

"I'd say she was happy," Ginny whispered, sliding up next to Harry.

"Hi, Gin." Harry smiled kissing her lightly on the top of her head as her arm slipped around his waist.

"Hello, Husband."

"Was this your idea, Love?" Hermione whispered to Ron. Ron smiled.

"I might have had something to do with it."

"Thank you."

"Hey there, Hermione," Alicia and Angelina said sliding up next to her. Alicia handed her a glass of punch.

"Don't worry; it's not spiked this time," she said when Hermione looked at it warily. "School is in session, and getting the Head Girl pissed might be a bad idea." Harry and Ginny couldn't help laughing at Hermione's smile of relief.

"Thank you for controlling my brother's-in-law," Hermione replied hugging them, and then twins. "You're doing alright?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah, sis, we're doing ok," Fred replied holding her tight for a second longer than would be comfortable for most people.

Harry, Ron and Ginny watched quietly from the side as George, Angelina, Alicia, Susan and Cho each took an extra second or two to say happy birthday to Hermione.

The three of them each individually marveled at the bond their friends now had with Hermione after she had saved them from the effects of the Curciatus curse. Harry understood the bond that formed when someone saved your life. He had had his own life saved by more than one person. But it was different with what Hermione had done.

She had not acted blindly in the heat of the moment by stepping in front of some deadly curse. And the act had not been over in a few seconds. She had knowingly entered a trap from which there was only one, truly safe exit. She had to be successful. And she had remained there, fighting for each of these six people, for hours on end. Harry felt it was truly the bravest act he had ever witnessed, and he had seen a number of brave acts in his lifetime.

The only thing that compared in his mind was what Ginny had done for him and the others when he was on his knees defeated in front of Voldemort. She could have attacked Voldemort herself that day and saved all of them. Harry knew, especially with Dumbledore there, that Voldemort had been weakened enough that he would have fled if she did.

Even though Harry realized now, that he had not been thinking clearly when he told her to gather the others. That if she left him to die, it only delayed the day Voldemort did kill her. It still boggled his mind that she didn't do as he asked.

Instead Ginny had chosen the path that was most dangerous, but held the greatest reward, without concern of the consequence it might have. Ginny had not demanded he fight to save her, or anyone else that day. She had not demanded he fight because she loved him and hoped if he lived he might return those feelings, she had demanded he fight because she had faith that he was strong enough to win, even if he did not.

It was her faith in him; his love and utter devotion to her that allowed him stop Voldemort from killing him or anyone else that day. And now the love they shared was giving him the strength to believe he could ultimately win.

The six people who Hermione had saved, Harry realized had the same devotion to her as Ron did, or he did to Ginny. Their faith in her was unbreakable, and they would all reach deeper into themselves to protect her than they had ever reached before. Voldemort's hatred was building an army of people who loved each other so much that the pendulum balancing good and evil in the world was swinging back to the middle. If Harry could defeat Voldemort once and for all, the rest of the Death Eaters, no matter if it took a day or ten years, were going to live the rest of their miserable lives cowering in fear of the day they would be caught and taken to Azkaban.

"You better make sure you never hurt her, Ron," Harry whispered to him. "If you do, the Curciatus Curse would be mild compared to what they would do to you." Ron grinned.

"What about you, Harry?" he asked. "I seem to remember you threatening to break my neck if I caused her any harm."

"By the time they got done with you, there wouldn't be anything left for me," Harry replied.

"Yeah well, you just make sure you never hurt my sister, because they would do the same to you."

"I know," Harry said.

"Come on you lot, it's time for presents," Ginny called out loudly. "Let's get the birthday girl up on the table.

After opening her gifts and having some cake, Hermione was talking with Cho and Neville, when she saw Ron standing in front of Harry and Ginny discussing something.

_What do you think?_she asked the voices.

_Oh yes, much too good of an opportunity to pass up,_the third remarked.

_Harry did say they wanted to see Ron's face when he saw the memory,_the first commented.

_And they're getting off pretty easy, we did say we were going to kill them,_the second added.

_**"Ronald,"**_Hermione thought to him.

_**"What, Mione?"**_he replied.

_**"Do me a favor?"**_

_**"Anything, Mione."**_

_**"Don't ask why, and make sure you are facing directly at Harry and Ginny, but I want you to chug that glass of punch."**_Hermione felt Ron's mental shrug at her request.

_**"Ok,"**_he said and started to drink. A second later an image came into his mind and he sprayed punch all over Harry and Ginny.

_**"Thank you, Love,"**_she said. It took Ron a second or two to stop coughing.

_**"Oh, you're welcome, Mione,"**_he replied as he wiped his mouth.

_**"Did you two enjoy seeing the expression on his face when he saw the memory of Harry and I jumping off the tower?"**_ Hermione asked a punch soaked Harry and Ginny.


	13. Chapter 13: Repercussions of Eternity

Please note the world of Harry Potter belongs to JKR. I'm only playing with her creation. Also the story image was a free download I found. Thank you to whomever it belongs. I will remove it immediately if asked.

* * *

Author's note:

As with, A Promise Kept and Harry Potter and the Blood Traitor, this is an older work that I am posting to help tide people over till my new works are ready. If I were to write this now, I would hit it with a pretty heavy editing hand. But I'm not writing it now and will be leaving it as is. Still, while it won't help this story, your comments will help my future work. So I will say it again, reviews are how you pay fanfic authors. I thereby challenge anyone who reads, like it or loath it to leave a review. I will do my best to respond to all signed reviews.

Also, I'm perfectly aware that with the title of the story and a quick google search you can find the whole thing. Certainly I can't stop you from doing so. Just know that I while I have not taken my works down from the old site, I no longer check anything there. If you want an answer to a question, you're going to have to contact me here.

Hope you like it.

Authors' note#2:

I suppose I should have expected this as my old work is going up. It was a very different life and more than five years since I said I was done with fan fiction. Now I'm back writing again. I'm on a new site with a new penname. A simple google search of the titles of my old work will direct you to mugglenet and the penname of huskers. So, I might as well say that yes, I use to post on mugglenet under the penname of huskers. Please read the bio there that directs you to find any new work as well as my old work here under the new penname of Sorcerer's Muse. Yes, I am one in the same. If you have any doubts that I am the same person and that all the work posted here is indeed mine, please go to mugglenet. Look up huskers' page and send an email with an appropriate code word of your choosing. I will then post that code word on my profile here to prove that I am the same person. **Note, I will not post anything vulgar or inappropriate.**

As always, thank you for reading my work.

Sorcerer's Muse

* * *

**Harry Potter and the Unlocked Mind**

**Chapter 13: Repercussions of eternity**

* * *

The cold December wind rattled the windows of the flat as Ron sat at the dining table. The relief of the Christmas holidays in two weeks that he had been dreaming about, was now lost to his mind.

_You beat us,_the voices said, still stunned after close to five minutes of staring at the chess board in disbelief.

_He actually beat us,_the second voice said unnecessarily repeating what he and the other two voices had just said.

_There has to be another move we can make,_his third replied still unwilling to accept the truth of what was in front of him.

Ron himself was still flabbergasted, he had first attempted this last January and after almost eleven months of trying, he had beaten the voices. There were a few times before this where he had come close to winning. One time he had even thought he would win, only to have his plan destroyed and lose. After that game, he had actually started to give up hope that he could win. The voices were him after all, and he was playing three against one. Ron opened his mind completely, melding it into one whole for the first time since he had started playing against the voices.

_Is there anything you three could have done differently that would have changed the outcome?_he asked them.

Ron waited while his mind raced through the game replaying each move and counter move that had been made. Finally the voices came back to him with the answer.

_We made the best possible play each time. Once you took our queen's side bishop, the only thing that could have changed the outcome would have been a mistake on your part. We could have tried a bluff of some kind, but who knows if it would have worked._

Ron contemplated the board again. It was all there, the black king was in check, every move that the voices could make left their king in check except one. That move was to take his queen's side bishop. With Ron's next move, he would then checkmate the black king with his queen.

"Set up for a new game," Ron said quietly as he divided his mind again. Two hours later he had lost, but it had been close.

_You made a mistake twelve plays ago,_his second said quietly.

_I know,_Ron moaned. I've been trying to recover from it ever since.

_I still can't believe he beat us,_his third grumbled as Ron stood up and headed for his and Hermione's bedroom.

Ron undressed, and stood watching Hermione for a few moments before he climbed into bed as quietly as he could hoping not to disturb her. Hermione rolled over and snuggled into him sighing deeply as his arm wrapped around her.

"You said you would be right in, Love," she murmured to him, half awake and half asleep.

"I'm sorry, Mione; I got caught up in the game," Ron replied as he gently kissed the top of her head.

_Merlin does she smell good,_he said to himself.

"I just miss you, Love," Hermione whispered before she fell asleep again. Ron smiled to himself as he laid there staring at the canopy of their giant four poster bed. All thoughts of the war and prophecies left his mind as he held Hermione close.

He could feel her heart beating against him and her breath rushing across his bare chest each time she exhaled. His own breathing and heart rate slowed matching hers as he drifted off to sleep.

_Ron padded along the shore of the lake sniffing at the ground, drinking in Hermione's scent. He turned and began to trail her through the woods. As he moved deeper into the woods he came to a stream and stopped, contemplating which way to go. He knew she would run in the water for some time. The question was, in which direction would she go, and which side of the stream would she decide to exit the water on? If he guessed wrong, the one to two minutes she was ahead of him would grow as he doubled back._

Ron headed to his left, keeping his nose low to the ground as he tried to pick up her scent again. After about two minutes, knowing he had guessed wrong, he quickly crossed the stream and headed back the other way. Halfway back to where he started, he came across a new scent that shook him to his core. Freezing in his tracks, with his heart pounding, Ron made sure he was correct before he took off running as fast as he dared after the new trail.

Ron slowed, knowing he was getting closer from the warmth of the scent filling his nose. As the woods thinned, his pace fell to a crawl. Moving with all the stealth and patience that a lion hunting the first meal it had seen in weeks possessed, he was less than a shadow as he approached the shack. As his ears rotated back and forth, he caught voices coming from inside and felt his blood turn to ice from fear in his veins.

"You have done well, Bella," Voldemort hissed with sordid delight dripping in his voice.

"Thank you my Lord," she replied, her voice hushed in deference to her master.

"I shall give you the honor of torturing her until her husband comes." This pronouncement brought a squeal of school girl glee to the lips of Bellatirx Lestrange

"Thank you Master," she answered, with barely controlled anticipation.

"Do not be too enthusiastic with her Bella, I wish for her to be alive and coherent when he arrives."

Ron crept forward towards the shack terrified of what he would find. Whose wife had Bellatrix Lestrange captured? He was unconcerened with Bella; he could kill her before they new he was there. But then he would have to fight Voldemort alone in order to save this person, and him he could not kill, even if they fought for eternity.

Ron pressed his paw into the soft mud three times forming the pattern that he and Hermione had agreed would mean, "I thought of you at this time." and steeled himself for what he was about to do.

"I know you would like to do more Bella, but will it not be more fun to kill her in front of her helpless husband?"

"You will allow me, Master?" she asked. Ron cringed at the insanity of the two inhuman creatures that were in the shack.

"Of course my pet," Voldemort hissed at her. Ron's heart skipped a beat as he caught a new scent mingled with the first two wafting on the air to him from the shack.

"GINNY!" Ron shouted bolting awake.

"Ronald!" Hermione gasped at him as she was thrown to the side in the bed from his sudden movement. Ron looked wildly around the room in the dim morning light, sweat glistening on his face and chest. Hermione reached her hand out and pulled his face around to look at her.

"Love, it was just a nightmare," she whispered to him. Ron focused his eyes on Hermione. After a second, swallowing hard, he nodded slightly at her. He then looked around the room again.

Focusing on the door, Ron cast a proximity detection spell towards Harry and Ginny's room trying to verify that she was there, he thought he could feel two presences, but wasn't sure.

"Mione, can you feel if she is in the room with Harry?" he whispered anxiously.

"I can do better than that, Love," she replied with a smile. Hermione turned to hers and Ron's wedding picture.

"Hermione," she said to the picture.

"What?" the image of herself asked.

"Go. See if Ginny and Harry are in their room. Tell me if they're safe." The image of Hermione left the frame, leaving the image of Ron standing there alone.

"Alright there, Ron?" The image of himself asked Ron.  
Ron looked from the photo to his wife with his mouth hanging open. She smiled at him serenely.

"After Ginny ran off to save Bridgette, I asked Professor Dumbledore to show me how. He gave me the book, so I could figure it out."

"Hermione," the photo image of herself called to her.

"Yes?" Hermione asked the photo.

"She and Harry are…." The image of Hermione paused for a second.

"What?" Ron snapped at it.

"Erm….Well... They're ok," the photo replied and then quickly walked out of the frame pulling the image of Ron with her.

"What does that mean?" Ron asked looking at Hermione. Hermione opened her mouth to reply.

"I….well…." she stammered, and then her face flushed, Ron's eyes opened wide.

"No, stop," he yelped. "They may be married, but I don't want to know." They both looked at each other uneasily for a second or two before breaking into sheepish grins.

"I think you need to explain how to be subtle to that photo," Ron groaned, lying back down on the bed. Hermione lay back down on Ron's chest, the comforting sound of his heart beating quietly resounded in her ear.

"Was the dream about Tom?" she asked after a few minutes, fearful that all of the searching Ron and Ginny had been doing of Ginny's memories was so much, that now he couldn't even sleep peacefully next to her.

"Yes, but it wasn't from Ginny's memories," Ron replied quietly. He felt Hermione's body relax slightly on top of him.  
"It was just a random dream, Mione," he continued. "I was hunting you, and came across a new scent. I followed it to this shack, and found Voldemort and Bellatrix Lestrange. They had Ginny, and were going to use her to lure Harry there. I woke up just as Bellatrix was about to start torturing her."

"She's safe with Harry, Love," Hermione whispered as she sat up and looked into Ron's eyes, trailing her fingers across his bare chest and up to his jaw line.

Ron shuddered and he felt tingling sensations coursing through his body at her delicate touch. His eyes locked on hers, unwilling to let his gaze fall on the curves of her body that were only just hidden behind her nightgown.

"I know Mione, I'll be ok now," he replied holding her eyes in his gaze. They stayed that way for a few minutes with Hermione gently caressing his chest.

"Ronald, I don't know how much longer I can go not making love to you," Hermione whispered in an anguished voice. Ron closed his eyes, knowing if he looked at her he would lose the fight. He couldn't fail her; the consequences of bringing a child into their world accidentally were too ghastly to think about. His face twitched as he struggled to control his emotions.

"I can make it through today," he finally replied. Hermione groaned and collapsed down on his chest again.

"Thank you for being strong today, Ronald," she said while silently cursing him. They were quiet for a long time before Ron shifted slightly under her.

_**"I have some memories if you want share,"**_he thought to her.

_**"Yes, Love. I do,"**_Hermione replied.

_**"I'm sorry Mione,"**_Ron said to her as he felt her tears wetting the bare skin of his chest.

_**"No, Love. I'm sorry for being weak,"**_ Hermione answered clutching his hand in hers.

* * *

Hermione sat stewing at the table, unable to decide how she felt about what the photo had told her that morning. She and Ginny had talked many times about the vows they had each made with their husbands to abstain from making love. They had both been drawing strength from each other to keep that vow.

Ginny also knew about the wedding picture, she had helped Hermione with it. The photo of Harry and Ginny that hung on the wall in her and Ron's bedroom was charmed too. It reported to Ginny. Along with making sure no one ran off when they weren't supposed to, they had thought it would help both of them to keep their vow of celibacy if they knew they were so easily observed.

Apparently it had not been enough for Ginny. Now with her and Harry having finally given in, Hermione was scared that she wouldn't be able to prevent herself from doing the same. If Ron hadn't stopped her, she would have taken him in an instant this morning. But he wasn't always going to be strong. In fact, the last time she had stopped him.

_Has she been telling us the truth?_the voices asked her.

_What do you mean?_Hermione replied.

_Well, have they been….you know for a long time or was this the first?_her second asked.

_It better be the first, because if she lied to me I'll kill her,_Hermione answered angrily to the voice.

Hermione glanced up as Harry and Ginny came into the sitting room, and quickly looked back down at her porridge before either of them caught her eye.

"Morning, Hermione," Harry and Ginny said brightly together.

"Mmmm."

"Not very talkative this morning, are you?" Harry answered. Hermione looked up and smiled at him.

"Sorry Harry, I'm just thinking," she said cheerfully to him. Even if she was angry with Ginny, there was no reason to take it out on Harry.

"Where's Ron?" Ginny asked tentatively when Hermione had returned her attention to eating her breakfast without looking at her.

"He went to talk with Mark," Hermione mumbled without looking at Ginny. Ron had no clue that Harry and Ginny had made the same vow he and Hermione had. It was not something he had thought about, nor had he and Harry discussed it. The information from the photo this morning had painted a picture in his mind that he hoped would fade soon enough. Ron had been more than happy to have had an early meeting with the Unspeakable today. Breakfast was a little to quick too face his sister and brother-in-law for him.

"Oh," Ginny replied softly, stung by Hermione's coldness towards her. They ate in silence for a while before Harry spoke again.

"Are you ok, Mione?" he asked her.

"I'm fine Harry, I'm just tired. Ron had a nightmare. And well, I didn't sleep well either."

"Oh, well what was it about?" he asked. Hermione looked up at him and glanced at Ginny.

_This might actually be a way of bringing it up with out directly asking her,_the voices said to her. Hermione focused on Harry.

"Tom and Bellatrix Lestrange took Ginny, they were using her to lure you out, and they were torturing her." Hermione turned her face to focus on Ginny, who was watching her intently looking for some clue as to what she had done to have Hermione upset with her. Hermione's eyes and voice took on a frosty tone.

"He was really upset, asked me to verify his proximity detection spell." Harry missed the change in Hermione's demeanor, but Ginny didn't. She kept her eyes locked with Hermione's for a second and then the color drained from her face as she realized how Hermione had made sure they were both in the room. Hermione got up from the table and went into her bedroom. Harry watched her go in surprise.

"What was that all about?" he asked turning to Ginny.

"I'll tell you at quidditch. I need to go talk to Hermione," Ginny said as she quickly kissed his cheek and then followed Hermione into her bedroom closing the door behind her. Harry sat there at the table shocked by the fact that he was suddenly alone.

"I will never understand either of them, no matter how long I live," he muttered.

_Neither will we,_ the voices replied.

* * *

"Just tell me that was the first time. That you haven't been lying to me, Ginny," Hermione said when the door closed without turning around to face her.

"It wasn't what you think, Hermione," Ginny replied.

"If it was the first time, I understand, Ginny, but don't lie to me. We set those pictures up to tell everything. They were supposed to help us. How can I keep this up if the two strongest people I know couldn't?" Hermione said turning around to face Ginny, her tears streaming down her face. "Ron had to save me this morning," she finished desperately.

"I'm not lying to you, Hermione. Harry and I have not made love anytime before this, and we were not doing so this morning," Ginny replied calmly.

"So the picture is lying then? You know that's not possible," Hermione snapped at her.

"Hermione, Harry and I were in a very compromising position this morning, in a state of undress that could easily have been misinterpreted. But we did not make love. What exactly did the picture tell you?" Hermione looked at Ginny for a second and then at her wedding picture. The photo images of herself and Ron were watching the conversation intently.

"What exactly did you see, Hermione?" Hermione asked the image of herself.

"I saw what Ginny told you and left. You told me to see if she was there, not to stick around and watch. You designed me to tell everything I see. When I came back to you and Ron, I was flustered. I knew Ron wouldn't want a detailed description. I did the best I could not to upset anyone, but I had to give some indication of what I had seen.

"Ginny," the image of Ginny in hers and Harry's wedding photo said from the wall.

"Yes?" Ginny replied as she and Hermione turned to look at the photo.

"Am I free to speak?"

"Go ahead," Ginny answered the image.

"Hermione, I was there the whole time. I have never been taken off the wall in their room since the day you and Ginny put the charms on me. You know I can't lie, Ginny is telling you the truth." Hermione turned to look at Ginny, she was still crying and biting her lip, but her eyes no longer radiated fear and anger.

"Ginny I'm…." Ginny crossed the room and took her sister-in-law in her arms holding her tightly.

"It's ok, Mione. I would have been upset too," Ginny whispered to her as they sat down on the bed. They sat together for quite a while before Hermione turned to face Ginny. Ginny reached out with her hand to wipe a tear from Hermione's face.

"Harry had to stop me this morning too, Mione," she said quietly.

"Ginny, I want him so much, sharing memories helped for a long time, but my heart aches to share my body with Ron. He was strong enough to stop me today, but he couldn't look at me when he did. I wanted him to fail….Ginny, I cursed my husband's strength today."

"I know, Hermione. I did too," Ginny sighed in reply.

"Ginny, I can fight evil everyday and never give in to it, but I have already failed fighting love more than once. Sooner or later, Ron is going to fail at the same time I do. I have one potion up here already, but there are others, some even for the man to take. I'm going to see Madam Pomphrey today. I need to take every precaution I can, because once it happens the first time there will be no going back. It will be impossible for me not to share myself with him. Ginny was quiet for a long time.

"I need to go too Hermione, will you wait for me? We can go after quidditch practice today."

"Yes, Gin, I'll wait for you," Hermione answered, pulling Ginny into a hug.

* * *

"Harry?" Ron asked as he came up to the row of chairs outside of Madam Pomphrey's office.

"Ron?" Harry replied, looking up nervously at his mate.

"Erm….what are you doing here?" Ron asked. "You didn't get hurt at quidditch today did you?" Harry watched Ron carefully; he seemed to be as nervous as he was.

"No. You?"

"No," Ron replied sitting down a few chairs over from Harry.

"Hermione's not hurt is she?" Harry asked suddenly after a few moments of uncomfortable silence.

"No," Ron answered quickly. "Ginny?"

"No."

"Oh."

"Hermione told us about your dream this morning," Harry said after another uncomfortable silence. Ron stiffened. "She and Ginny disappeared into your room after that. She said they needed to talk, that was why she was late to practice today."

"Uh-hun," Ron replied, his ears turning red.

"Do you have any idea what they talked about? Ginny said she was going to explain it to me after quidditch, but then she and Hermione disappeared together."

"Nope," Ron yelped, getting up and starting to pace back and forth. He would have left, but Hermione had threatened to make him sleep on the couch if he came back without the men's contraceptive potions.

"What's the matter with you?" Harry asked, exasperated at Ron's behavior.

"Me? Nothing, what's wrong with you?" Ron replied stopping his pacing and turning to Harry.

"Nothing," Harry answered, his face flushing red. Ron sat down grumpily in the chair again.

"So what are you here for then?" Harry asked. Ron stiffened again, then sighed.

_They are married after all,_the voices said to him.

"Look, Harry, after the dream this morning I tried to use the proximity detection spell to verify that both you and Ginny were in your room. I couldn't quite tell if you were both there. I asked Hermione if she could verify it for me. She sent a picture in to check on you and Ginny. Hermione and Ginny talked later, now you and I are both here. I imagine for the same reasons," Ron said quickly.

"Oh," Harry said, his face turning purple.

"Yeah," Ron replied.

"So you two know about this morning?" Harry asked after a minute.

"I don't want to talk about it," Ron yelped clasping his hands over his ears. Harry started laughing.

"Shut it, Harry." Harry managed to stop laughing by turning away from his friend.

"What I don't get," Ron started after a minute, "is what you're doing here. I mean if you two have already….shouldn't you have done this a while ago?"

"I thought you didn't want to talk about it?" Harry replied.

"I don't." They both fell silent again.

"How come you haven't done this yet?" Harry asked a few moments later.

"Because we haven't yet you moron," Ron said angrily. "We didn't want to chance a child given that we are on Voldemort's top five hit list. But it is getting too hard to control. I should think that you and Ginny would have thought of that before you started…."

"Ron, we haven't either," Harry replied defensively. Ron looked at him in surprise.

"But you said this morning…."

"Close Ron, but I managed to stop it."

"You and Ginny really haven't?"

"No Ron, but like you said it is getting too hard to control. Ginny stopped me a few weeks ago. I stopped her this morning, but sooner or later were both going to give in, so she sent me here." Ron smiled slightly.

"I knew I could trust you with my sister."

"You better be careful with mine, Ron," Harry replied with a smile. They were quiet for few minutes again before Ron spoke.

"Harry, I haven't talked with Hermione about it, but if we have a child, and we aren't here to raise it, I want you and Ginny to do it for us." A real smile came on Harry's face at Ron's announcement.

"Ginny and I have talked about it, and we want you and Hermione to raise our children if we have them and can't raise them."

"So that means?" Ron asked.

"Yes. Ginny and I will be the God Parents to yours and Hermione's children." Ron stood up and moved in front of Harry.

"Hermione and I will do the same for you and Ginny," he replied. Harry stood up and they looked at each other for a second.

"Maybe just a handshake?" they said together.

"Yeah, Mate. A hand shake," they both said laughing together.

"Harry, I don't want to have a conversation about you and my sister ever again."

"Me either, Ron," Harry replied, flopping down in the chair again.

* * *

Ginny walked into the common area of the flat after storing the potions she had received from madam Pomphrey in her dresser. She sat down at the dining table and started in on her potions essay for Monday; a short while later, Hermione joined her.

"Did you send Ron to the hospital wing?" Ginny asked after a few minutes.

"Yes," Hermione replied.

"So he and Harry are down there at the same time?"

Hermione stopped writing and looked up at Ginny. "Oh boy would I like to be a fly on the wall for that conversation." She giggled.

"What?" Ginny asked perplexed at the expression Hermione had used.

"Honestly Gin, don't they teach you anything in Muggle Studies? It's an expression, it means that I would like to watch a situation, or hear a conversation, and not be seen doing it."

"Oh, I get it now. That would be interesting to watch wouldn't it?" Ginny said laughing along with Hermione for a minute.

They went back to their homework for a while, before Ginny put her quill down again.

"Hermione, can I ask you something?" she asked, her voice turning solemn. "You don't have to answer if it makes you uncomfortable." Hermione looked at her sister-in-law curiously for a second. Ginny seemed to be acting like something was really wrong.

"I'll answer if I can, Gin." Ginny stewed uncomfortably for a moment or two and took a deep breath.

"Do you think I can die, Hermione?" she asked barely above a whisper. Hermione blinked in surprise. "It's just that my animagus is the phoenix, and I have been dead twice already…. But I'm still here," Ginny added a second later.

"Ginny, you have never been dead," Hermione replied softly.

"Yes I have, Hermione, once in the Chamber of Secrets, and once when Cho collided with me on the quidditch field. Both times, after I recovered, when they thought I was sleeping, I overheard Professor Dumbledore and Madam Pomphrey talking. Professor Dumbledore said I shouldn't have lived either time.

"Hermione, I'm scared that I could live for thousands of years like a real phoenix. I don't want to be here after everyone is gone." Hermione reached out and took Ginny's hand. Looking into eyes that had showed fear only a handful of times in the six years that Hermione had known Ginny scared her.

"Ginny, I know you can die," Hermione said firmly, holding Ginny's eyes with hers.

"How do you know?" Ginny asked her lip trembling slightly.

"Because I felt it in your memories, Gin," Hermione answered, "when you thought Harry was dead this past spring after the fight with Tom. I felt you slipping away, Ginny. Your heart was barely beating I could feel it starting to flutter slightly, you were barely breathing, and I could feel your spirit fading. Have you seen Harry's memories of this, of the time he spent in the Death Chamber, Gin?"

"No," Ginny replied cautiously.

"I have, Ginny. I have gone back and run through them in my mind at the same time. Your heart beats and breathing are matched exactly, Gin. There is a point where Harry asks if he is supposed to go through the veil, when he does, both his and your heart and breathing stop together. And I feel something in your memory that chills my soul like a dementor.

"The instant his mother's eyes fade away his heart beats and he breathes. Almost instantly after that your heart beats and you breathe. Then there is a voice in the chamber that tells him to go back, his heart rate and breathing pick up speed followed immediately by yours. The next thing he hears is your voice, Ginny, saying that you came back for him. When he recognizes your voice and turns to find you. He looks up to see the doorway out of the chamber starting to close and realizes that he left you in the field with Tom. His heart rate and breathing surge followed instantly by yours. When he wakes up in the field something happens in your memory that causes warmth to flow back to my soul again.

"I have done some research on people who had the eternity symbol show up in smoke at their wedding, Gin. Mark brought me the records from the Department of Mysteries; there have only been about three hundred eternity symbols recorded in England since they started to keep records of it almost two thousand years ago. Very few of the couples who had the symbol show up lived any length of time after their spouse died. The ones who did had very young children. Once their children become of age or marry, they die shortly after that.

"There are four records of couples who had the symbol turn black like you and Harry, always the younger person of the two had lived through something that the experts believed they should not have. In the first two records, the husband was the younger person of the couple, when their wives died there was nothing to keep them here, Ginny. They were both in perfect health, but they both died within hours of their wives.

"The third record, the wife was the younger of the two. As a young girl, she fell over a hundred feet from a broom. She was unconscious for almost a year but she lived, even though no one thought she would. She did, however, die giving birth to her first child. Her husband lived until the day their daughter married. There was nothing wrong with him. He was still young, only fifty-one, and healthy. He simply went to bed after the reception, and didn't wake up the next day.

"The fourth record is you and Harry, Gin. When I am watching your memory of this past spring, and my soul goes cold, I'm positive I'm feeling your soul leaving your body. When I feel warm again, I'm sure it's because your soul has returned to your body. Gin, there is no doubt in my mind that if Harry had gone through the veil this past spring, that you would have died too," Hermione finished. Ginny smiled weakly at Hermione. Hermione thought she saw hope in Ginny's eyes; strangely she didn't think it odd to see a person hopeful at the prospect of their own death.

"Ginny, I really believe that you're life is bound to Harry's. I see and feel memories….no, not really memories, they are more like a ghost of a memory in your mind….that I swear are from before you were born, images that look like Harry's mother and father, images that look like Harry as an infant and a young boy before he came to Hogwarts. I think they have something to do with Harry's parents guiding you to him. Gin, you didn't die in the chamber or because of the accident with Cho because Harry was still alive, not because you are a phoenix."

"How come I don't recall those images, Hermione?" Ginny asked tentatively.

"I don't know, Gin. I would show them to you, but I've tried with Ron, and I can't bring them to the surface. They are not like anything else I come across when I'm in your mind. They are so fleeting that they barely register.

"They are not memories unto themselves. They are buried in your other memories and are less than the flashes that we are finding in your memories of Tom possessing you.

"I'm really just guessing that they are memories from before you were born. Even that can't be entirely correct, because it doesn't explain an image of Harry when he is three or five or seven. I am, however, convinced that those flashes that are coming from Tom are the key to defeating him."

"Thank you, Hermione," Ginny said quietly.

"You're welcome, Gin; I understand why you're scared. I wouldn't want to live forever either. Even though I think your life is tied to Harry's, I'm sure there are ways that you could be killed that would not involve Harry dieing." Ginny nodded at Hermione and gave her a feeble smile.

"How does it make you feel to think that your life may be tied to Ron's?" Ginny asked after a moment.

"I first thought about it when I saw your memory of the fight, and felt you slipping away. That was when I asked Mark if there were records kept about people who had the eternity symbol at their weddings. I've thought about it a lot since looking at the records, and I'm fine with it.

"Almost always the person simply went to sleep and didn't wake up again. A few were killed in accidents; some were murdered like Harry's mother, all within days of their spouse. None of them went out and killed themselves. I might be able to live without Ron, I don't know. But I would not be surprised if he died, to go to sleep and never wake up again."

"Is there anything that might keep you here, Hermione?"

"I'm sure a child would, and maybe you or Harry….And you Ginny?"

"I would stay for a child….Harry would too, he would also stay long enough to fight Tom."

"Yes he would, wouldn't he?" Hermione replied with a smile. the two of them sat there for a few minutes lost in their own thoughts before they quietly returned to their homework while they they waited for Ron and Harry to come back from seeing Madam Pomphrey.

* * *

Author's note:

Obviously, I've streatched it a bit, but go ahead and type, _**broken heart syndrome,**_ into the search bar on your internet browser. You will find that it is quite real.


	14. Chapter 14: Sacrificed

Please note the world of Harry Potter belongs to JKR. I'm only playing with her creation. Also the story image was a free download I found. Thank you to whomever it belongs. I will remove it immediately if asked.

* * *

Author's note:

As with, A Promise Kept and Harry Potter and the Blood Traitor, this is an older work that I am posting to help tide people over till my new works are ready. If I were to write this now, I would hit it with a pretty heavy editing hand. But I'm not writing it now and will be leaving it as is. Still, while it won't help this story, your comments will help my future work. So I will say it again, reviews are how you pay fanfic authors. I thereby challenge anyone who reads, like it or loath it to leave a review. I will do my best to respond to all signed reviews.

Also, I'm perfectly aware that with the title of the story and a quick google search you can find the whole thing. Certainly I can't stop you from doing so. Just know that I while I have not taken my works down from the old site, I no longer check anything there. If you want an answer to a question, you're going to have to contact me here.

Hope you like it.

Authors' note#2:

I suppose I should have expected this as my old work is going up. It was a very different life and more than five years since I said I was done with fan fiction. Now I'm back writing again. I'm on a new site with a new penname. A simple google search of the titles of my old work will direct you to mugglenet and the penname of huskers. So, I might as well say that yes, I use to post on mugglenet under the penname of huskers. Please read the bio there that directs you to find any new work as well as my old work here under the new penname of Sorcerer's Muse. Yes, I am one in the same. If you have any doubts that I am the same person and that all the work posted here is indeed mine, please go to mugglenet. Look up huskers' page and send an email with an appropriate code word of your choosing. I will then post that code word on my profile here to prove that I am the same person. **Note, I will not post anything vulgar or inappropriate.**

As always, thank you for reading my work.

Sorcerer's Muse

* * *

**Harry Potter and the Unlocked Mind**

**Chapter 14: Sacrificed**

* * *

"No!" a woman's voice screamed. "I won't allow it."

"Shut up you hag, we have no choice," a man yelled back at her.

"Yes we do!"

"And I have made it!"

"And I have made mine!" the woman yelled back at him raising her wand. The man regarded her with his hard cold eyes for a moment before they softened.

"Put your wand down woman," he said calmly to her.

"No, that will not work this time," she replied before sending a binding curse at the man. The man dove out of the way of the curse and came up with his wand leveled on the woman.

"You know you are no match for me, wench," he snarled at her. "The Master calls and I answer. It is that simple."

_"Protego!"_the man yelled as he ducked his wife's stunning spell, sending his own back at her.

"This is your last chance to put your wand down, woman," the man growled at her.

_"Crucio!"_she screamed.

_"Avada Kadavera!"_the man bellowed. Both fell to the floor a moment later, one screaming in agony for a second as he was hit by her spell and released from it when she was hit by the death spell. The man climbed slowly to his feet and walked to the body of his dead wife. He stood over her; looking down with cold, merciless eyes and spit on her body before he levitated it into the fireplace.

"Elf," he bellowed. A moment later a trembling house elf stood in front of him.

"Y…Yes, M…Master," the elf squeaked.

"Burn the body and dispose of the ashes."

The elf looked to the fireplace and began to shake even more than she already was. She looked up at the man and slowly nodded her head before igniting the fire. The man seeing that his instructions would be carried out left the room.

* * *

Harry rolled over in bed on the first day of the Christmas holiday, and for once Ginny was not awake watching him. She had been pushing herself harder than ever the last week. Her training against the Cruciatus curse, along with Harry's had progressed past four hours now. At first Mark had been in awe of what the four of them could do. Now it frightened him.

Ginny was matching Harry every step of the way as he prepared to fight Voldemort. Both of them had reached the level where Mark and Dumbledore had stopped Dumbledore's training. Not because he couldn't have done more, but because neither of them could see a reason for going beyond what they were already doing. Mark had wanted to end the training for the two of them also, but Dumbledore had left it up to Harry and Ginny. She had insisted it continue.

A few weeks ago, Harry's defense against legilimency had changed again. It was no longer like standing in a dark cave when you tried to enter his mind. It simply was not possible even to do that anymore. Ron had tried for hours.

He had finally given up; telling Harry that his brain felt like it was running into a wall. Harry understood what he meant; he had felt Ron trying to enter his mind. The only way he could describe it, even though he felt no physical force, was that it felt like something had hit him and bounced away. Each time Ron had tried, it felt like he got hit just a little harder.

A number of other people had tried with similar results. Ron, Harry had compared to a bludger that had been hit by one of the Weasley twins. Cho and Neville had felt like something the size of a snitch. Dumbledore and Ginny, they felt like a bludger that might have been hit by Hagrid or his brother Grawp.

At first, Harry had been concerned that he and Ginny would be unable to share minds anymore, but he quickly found that he could still let anyone he wanted to in. Dumbledore had also taken him aside and showed him that the defense Harry erected was entirely up to him. It could be a white cloud, a black cave or a solid wall and he could control how strong each of them were.

_"How do you think I trained Healer Marchbanks? He believed Cho to be stronger than I am. The truth is that he has never seen what my full capabilities are. It would do him no good to train in the black cave, or against the solid wall that I can erect," Dumbledore said quietly._

"You do have a lot of secrets, don't you sir?" Harry replied.

Now, just yesterday Ginny had erected a solid wall too. She had also taken out half the DA yesterday without her wand. It was reminiscent of what Voldemort had done against Harry and the others in the cemetery last spring, and was more than Harry had managed yet. It had infuriated Ginny towards him, and left everyone including Dumbledore speechless, shaking their heads in disbelief.

Ginny had been so tired last night that she had appeared to fall into a trance at dinner. Ron and Hermione recognized it immediately as what happened to them when they sat with her. This was the sleep she allowed herself when she was not touching someone else. The second Harry had picked Ginny up to carry her to their bedroom she gave herself over entirely to the rest that her body was crying desperately for. Now, Harry watched a smile come across his wife's face.

_**"You're watching me,"**_she thought to him.

_**"I'm hoping you're not still angry with me,"**_Harry replied. Ginny's mind flashed back to yesterday afternoon as she sought to reconcile with herself that what she did to Harry was necessary.

_"Ginevra, I would have a word with you," Professor Dumbledore said to her._

"Yes, Professor?" Ginny asked when they had stepped into the hall.

"Ginevra, it is good that you push Harry. You should, however, be aware that just because he is the one with the power to defeat Tom, that there may be things you can do that he cannot.

"Professor, are you saying that I am more powerful than either of them?" Ginny asked shocked at the idea.

"No, Ginevra, there is little doubt that they are the two most powerful sorcerers in the world. I am saying that in certain situations, Harry may not be capable of what you ask." Ginny's look changed from surprise to anger in an instant.

"Fear of failing her will drive the Equal to where he can defeat the Dark Lord," she replied glaring at Dumbledore.

Dumbledore's eyes widened. "Ginevra…."

"It is Harry's fate to fight Tom," Ginny cut across him. "It is my fate to see that he wins. If I have to pull both of us beyond Merlin in order for him to do it, then I will. I have accepted what I must do to accomplish my fate. I accepted it before I knew what my fate was. Perhaps you should too."

Albus Dumbledore paused for just a second before replying. He had seen many of the wonders of the world and learned at the feet of some of the greatest minds of the last two centuries. He had gained less from them than he had from his students at this school. More than half his knowledge, his skill, had come because some overly curious student had figured out something that he had needed to counter.

Ginny had just shown him the correct interpretation of that particular line from the second prophecy. She was not meant to stand idly to the side giving Harry a reason to fight. Defeating Tom fell as much to her as it did to Harry. Harry might fight the battle, but Ginny was the one who would see that he was capable of winning. Dumbledore shook his head and smiled at her.

"I am sorry for interfering with you, Ginevra. I know you have been motivating Harry in this manner for a long time. But I have never witnessed his reaction to it. My heart hurt for him." Ginny smiled and her voice softened.

"I know when to ask for more and when to accept what he has given me. Harry was below his ability today and he knows it. Ron is close to figuring out the final plan. I can feel it. Time is running out, Professor. Harry would accept his own death if it meant that he would defeat Tom. I am more selfish than Harry, and I will not.

"I don't care that I am promised eternity with Harry, or that I will likely die within days of him if Tom kills him. If God will allow it, I wish to spend a full life in this world with Harry. As long as it does not involve dark magic, I **will**find a way to do it. He responds to my method now, if that changes, I will find another way to make him respond."

"Very well, Ginevra. I will leave him in your hands then."

"Goodnight Professor."

"Goodnight Ginevra," Professor Dumbledore answered before he walked away.

_**"It is a new day, Husband,"**_Ginny answered before opening her mind to him.

* * *

Ron's eyes snapped open, on the morning of Christmas Eve, his heart pounding in his chest. He groaned to himself.

_Again,_the voices said in exasperation.

_It's not like I can control what I dream about,_Ron snapped at them.

_Well we can't either, unless you're going to start keeping one of us up,_they replied.

_No. Even with the dream, we're still better off than doing that,_Ron said.

_We may as well get up,_his second said. Ron laid there for a minute longer before carefully extracting himself from Hermione's arms. He couldn't quiet fathom how he slept anymore. Before he and Hermione married, he had always woken up spread out over the whole bed. Now he usually woke up about six inches from the edge of the bed with Hermione lying half on top of him, yet he never felt confined. Despite the nightmares of the last two weeks, he still felt more rested than he ever had before he was married.

Ron sat down at the desk in their bedroom studying the chessboard again. In the two weeks since he had first defeated the voices, he had not won again. Each time he had made one mistake that he had been unable to recover from. Those games had all been played with a time limit to make your play. He actually learned more that way then if he thought about a play for hours on end. Ron moved his knight and waited.

_Move our bishop. Take your knight,_the voices told him. Ron moved a pawn in response and studied the board while he waited for the voices to respond again. After about thirty seconds a small smile played at the corner of his mouth.

_Bloody Hell!_his second blurted out.

_Do you yield?_Ron asked.

_Like hell,_ the voices snapped together. _The game is not over yet._

_Make a play then,_Ron answered them.

_Give us a minute._

You're past time already.

Do you want to see if you really won, or give us the time to think about it?  
Fine, take as long as you want,

Ron replied getting up and heading for the shower.

* * *

Harry carried his blindfolded wife up the stairs of the astronomy tower. She may have been small, but after climbing to the last landing he was quite tired despite the condition he was in from quidditch training. Harry paused at the landing looking at the ladder that led up to the observation deck. He had not considered that.

"I'm going to have to set you down for a sec here, Gin," Harry said, as he let her legs fall to the ground. Ginny held onto his arm getting her balance before replying.

"What are you doing with me, Potter?" she whispered excitedly.

"That would be none of your business, Gin," Harry replied mischievously. Harry then climbed up the ladder and opened the trap door to the observation deck.

"Where did you go, Potter?" Ginny asked when she felt the breeze coming from above her.

"Do you trust me, Gin?" Harry called down to her. Ginny looked up trying to find him despite the blindfold.

"Yes, Husband."

"Hang on then," Harry replied as he reached out his hand and levitated Ginny up through the trap door. Ginny stifled a small squeak as her feet left the ground. A second later she found herself in his arms again.

"Well I can't say you haven't got my attention, Potter," she remarked, as he walked her over to the table. "It is kind of cold up here," she added. Harry smiled as he walked through the ward spell Dobby had set up to keep out the wind, cold and snow that was now falling.

"Better?" he asked.

"Much."

Harry set her down again and turned her to face the table. He reached up and untied the blindfold letting it fall away from her eyes. Ginny took in the scene in front of her. Light, provided by the nearly full moon above, washed over a table set for two. Silver domed platters waited to be opened. A bucket of ice held bottles of butter beer and her favorite, cranberry juice. A single red rose rested on one chair, which Harry walked over to and turned so she could sit in it.

"We never really got a chance to do this. I was hoping you might join me for a first date, Ginevra," Harry said quietly to her. Ginny looked at him. Even in the dim light, Harry could see her blushing furiously.

"Please?" he asked. Ginny moved somewhat hesitantly towards the chair, amazed that she could suddenly be shy in front of the man she was married to. Harry reached down and picked up the rose so she would be able to sit. He held it out to her as she drew near. Ginny reached to take the rose from him glancing into his eyes long enough to catch the smile dancing there. She smiled shyly at him then slowly lowered herself into the chair.

"Thank you," she whispered, as Harry helped her push her chair in.

"Thank you for joining me, Ginevra," Harry replied as he sat down across from her. They two of them sat there staring at each other for a few moments before Harry spoke again.

"Hungry?" he asked.

"Starving," Ginny replied. Harry reached across the table and pulled the cover off of the plate in front of her and set it to the side along with the cover from his own plate.

"Do you know how to eat one of those?"

"I'm not even really sure what it is," Ginny replied, eyeing her dinner skeptically.

"I wasn't either. It's a lobster. Here let me do it for you. Dobby showed me how earlier today. They were his idea."

"You're supposed to dip it in the butter," Harry said as he set the plate back in front of her.

"Erm….You first," Ginny replied, slightly appalled at the process of getting to the meat in a lobster.

"And I thought you were fearless," Harry teased her. Ginny glared at him. Picked up her fork stabbed a bite of the lobster on it dipped it in the butter and put it into her mouth, dribbling butter onto her chin as she did. She slowly began to chew, a moment later her eyes opened wide and a large grin came over her face.

"Oh my," she said after she had swallowed and wiped her chin with her napkin.

"Good?" Harry asked. Ginny stabbed another bite dipped it in the butter and reached across the table with it for Harry to take.

"Wow," he said, smiling at her after swallowing. "That is good."

"You said they were Dobby's idea?" Ginny asked.

"Yes, I was a little concerned, but he insisted."

"He needs a raise," Ginny replied, as she began to devour the rest of the lobster. Harry, fascinated by the beauty in front of him, watched her quietly.

"What?" Ginny asked, pausing when she noticed him staring.

"Nothing, I was just watching you."

"You better eat that before I get to it."

"You can have it if you want. I'm happy to feast my eyes on you," Harry said. Ginny snorted.

"How long did it to take you to come up with that line, Potter?" Harry grinned sheepishly and started to work on his lobster.

"About a month," he answered. Ginny smiled at him again.

"I'm thirsty, Harry," she said quietly. Harry reached into the bucket and filled her glass with cranberry juice for her.

"Thank you," Ginny said after she set her glass back down.

"You're welcome."

Ginny blushed once more under Harry's gaze before she started eating again.

"Oh wow, have you tried the potatoes yet?" she asked a few minutes later. Harry took a bite of the mashed potatoes, his eyes widened.

"I wonder where Dobby figured out how to make those?"

"I have no idea, but I am going to add some socks to his Christmas present for making this for us," Ginny remarked. Harry grinned at her.

"He'll like that." The two of them went back to their dinners and finished eating in silence. Each pausing, here and there, to watch the other for a moment when they thought the other wasn't looking. After they had both finished, they sat quietly staring at each other.

"Dessert?" Harry asked her after a few minutes. Ginny's face lit up with anticipation.

"I thought you would never ask," she said. Harry snapped his fingers and the dirty plates disappeared from the table. Another snap of his fingers and a new plate appeared in front of each of them. Ginny shot him a look, which he returned innocently.

"Proud of our self aren't we," she remarked.

"Are you going to see what it is, or pick on me?"

"But it's so much fun to pick on you," Ginny said as she lifted the cover from her plate to reveal a small, dome shaped piece of chocolate cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream that was just starting to melt on top of it. Chocolate and raspberry sauce had been drizzled on the plate, and a mint leaf with three raspberries was arranged delicately on one side of the cake.

"Dobby called it Molten Chocolate Cake," Harry said to her.

"I wonder what the 'molten' means?" Ginny asked. Harry shrugged his shoulders.

"Try it and find out." Ginny cut into the cake and hot chocolate fudge began to ooze out of the middle of it.

"Guess that answers that question," she said as she lifted her fork to her lips. The cake, fudge, ice cream, and raspberry sauce melted into every crevice of her mouth, a combination of hot and cold from the fudge and ice cream along with the mixing of the flavor from the raspberry overloaded her taste buds.

"MMMMMMMMYGOD," Ginny groaned, her eyes closed in ecstasy. "You have to try this," she said a second later.

"I'm waiting," Harry replied, smiling at her expectantly. Ginny's eyes darted to him, to the cake and back to Harry.

"No way," she said, "eat your own. This is mine."  
Harry blinked in surprise as she took another bite of cake without offering it to him.

"So much for love," he answered, taking the cover off his own plate and tucking in.

"There is love, Potter, and then there is Molten Chocolate Cake," Ginny teased him.

"Merlin that is good. Isn't it?" Harry said a second later. Ginny didn't answer him as her mouth was full. They ate in silence for a few minutes before Ginny interrupted him by clearing her throat.

Harry looked up to see she had finished her cake and was sitting with her chin on her hands eyeing his plate, a smile like the devil himself might have playing at her mouth. A mischievous smile came over Harry's face as he made a show of scooping the last bite of his cake onto his fork.

Making sure to scrape up the last remnants of the different sauces on his plate, he lifted the fork level with his mouth. Ginny followed the movement of his fork with her eyes, continuing to raise them when he stopped lifting it until she found his eyes with hers.

"What is it worth to you?" he asked.

"My heart for eternity," Ginny replied.

"I already have that."

"How about not sleeping on the couch tonight?" she asked, her eyes flashing at him.

"How about dancing with me?"

Ginny slowly stood up and leaned on the table with one hand. Locking her chocolate brown eyes on his emerald green ones, she reached across the table with her other hand and took his hand in hers. Pulling his hand to her lips she slowly opened her mouth and closed it around his fork taking the last bite of cake from it.

Keeping her eyes on his she released his hand, she slipped around the table to stand in front of him. Harry turned in his chair to face her and Ginny's hand moved to his chin. She began to raise her hand, lifting him from his seat with her touch. As she did, she slowly chewed and then swallowed the cake. Her tongue licked her lips delicately as she sought to remove the crumbs from them. And then she began to move towards Harry; pressing her mouth hungrily against his.

Harry was transfixed by the enchantress that stood in front of him. He couldn't have moved from where he was for anything he knew in this world. His eyes glazed as he watched the muscles in her neck move when she swallowed, and his senses overloaded when she kissed him, the taste of chocolate and raspberries still on her lips and tongue.

She pulled away from him a moment later.

"How about, because I want it?" she asked, in a soft husky voice that he had not heard before. Harry's knees nearly buckled and his mind started to drown, intoxicated by being so near her.

"That works for me," he gulped, as he struggled to regain control of the mess his body had become.

"I thought it would," Ginny replied in the same husky voice. She moved in close to him laying her head on his chest. Harry swallowed hard as he felt her press into him.

"Don't we need music to dance?" she asked after a minute. Harry, still struggling to control the feelings moving through his body, came out of the trance he was in and snapped his fingers behind her back. Music started wafting through the air a moment later.

"Very nice, Potter," Ginny said, as they slowly swayed around the observation deck. Hours later she whispered to him.

"I'm tired, Harry. Take me to bed."

"Not quite yet, Gin," Harry replied, as he pulled away from her. Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box. He held it in his hand for her to take.

"What's this?"

"Open it," he urged. Ginny reached tentatively for the box and opened the cover.

"They're beautiful," she gasped.

"No, Gin. You're beautiful." Ginny looked up into Harry's eyes, tears of joy welling in her own.

"Will you help me put them on?" she asked in a whisper.

"I can try," Harry answered.

"Well how do they look?" Ginny asked, after Harry finally managed to fix the back on the second earring.

"They look amazing," he replied, gazing into her eyes.

"You're not even looking at them you prat."

"Why would I, Ginevra?" Ginny beamed at him.

"Thank you, Harry."

"Happy Christmas, Gin."

"Christmas isn't until tomorrow, Harry."

"Well I guess you will just be getting something else for Christmas then, won't you?" Harry replied. Ginny smiled at him. "Though I think it is late enough that it is technically Christmas now," he added.

"Come Husband, I'm tired," Ginny said, taking his hand in hers and leading him to the trap door. "And I still have to give you your gift," she added.

"Have I told you what it does to me when you call me that?" Harry asked. Ginny stopped, turned to him and kissed him deeply.

"Why do you think I still do?" she asked when she pulled away. Harry grinned and started to pull her to the trap door again.

"Thank you Dobby," Ginny called over her shoulder as they climbed down the ladder.

"You're welcome Mrs. Ginny," the elf squeaked, happily from behind them.

"How did you know?" Harry asked in exasperation.

"I'm your wife, Harry. I always know."

"You didn't know about tonight," Harry remarked, as they started down the stairs at the base of the ladder.

"I chose to ignore your preparations."

"You're bluffing, Gin."

"Maybe, maybe not, Potter," Harry shook his head, there was no sense in trying, he would never win.

* * *

Ron sat at the desk in his and Hermione's bedroom staring at his chessboard.

_Fine, we yield,_the voices grumbled to him.

_No, from now on play it to the conclusion even if you're sure I'll win,_Ron said to the voices.

_What for?_

I just want to make sure.

Well don't get used to it, that is still only the second time you have beaten us.

I know,

Ron replied.

"Love, it's Christmas tomorrow, come to bed," Hermione said quietly, as she came up behind him.

"Alright Mione, I'm coming," Ron replied, as he slowly stood up; still staring at the chessboard. Hermione looked down and took in the state of the game.

"You're still playing the white side?" she asked.

"Yes I am," he answered. "Set up for a new game," he added to the chess pieces. The pieces started to move into position for a new game as Ron pulled Hermione towards the bed. He lay down on his back and she climbed in next to him lying with her head on his chest.

"Whose turn was it, Love?" Hermione asked quietly.

"The voices were up," Ron replied sleepily, it had been a long day for him as he had trained against the Cruciatus curse. He drifted off quickly while Hermione listened to his heart beating in his chest. She thought about the positions of the pieces; trying to see what move the voices would make and if Ron had a response.

Hermione was nowhere near the caliber player that Ron was. She had, however, played enough against Ron, Harry and Ginny that she understood the game. She was capable of keeping track of all the pieces on the board and following one or two scenarios three to four moves into the future.

_He won!_Hermione's second blurted, excitedly about twenty minutes later.

_Of course he won, he's playing himself,_her first remarked.

_No you nitwit. Ron won, he beat his voices, one against three,_her second snapped.

_Oh…._the first voice said. Comprehension of what the second voice was saying dawning on her.

_He only wins if he plays the rest of the game out without making a mistake,_the third voice interjected cautiously.

_This is Ron we're talking about,_ the second voice said exasperated with the other two. _Our husband, you may have met him. He is the chess genius; the person whom you may remember pummeled us, Harry, Ginny and the Headmaster this past summer._Hermione smiled happily.

_Why didn't he tell us?_the voices asked a moment later.

_Maybe he hadn't figured it out yet,_ Hermione commented, frowning slightly. _He seemed distracted, and he did fall asleep in about two minutes tonight._

Then why did he set up a new game?

the voices replied.  
_I don't know. We can ask him in the morning. I'm not waking him now, not with the way he has been sleeping for the past two weeks,_ Hermione answered before she drifted off to sleep herself.

* * *

Hermione woke very early on Christmas morning. Light from a not yet risen sun was just starting to penetrate the darkness of the night. Something was definitely wrong, and a second later she knew what it was. Ron was missing; he had been getting up early ever since the dream had started a little over two weeks ago. This was much too early.

Sitting up in the bed a wave of relief washed over her as she saw him sitting at their desk. She smiled to herself.

_The chess game,_the voices said quietly to her.

_He is fairly obsessed with it lately,_she replied to them.

"Love," she called to him. Ron jumped slightly, surprised that his solitude was intruded upon.

"Go back to sleep, Mione," he said quietly.

"I miss you," she said holding her hand out towards him, indicating that she wanted him to come back to her. Ron shook his head.

"I can't sleep anymore," he answered. Hermione crawled out of their bed pulling the cover with her. She walked over to him and sat in his lap wrapping the blanket around both of them. Ron let her settle into him and wrapped his arms around her waist. Hermione studied the chessboard in front of her.

"Whose turn is it?"

"Black," Ron replied quietly, resting his head against her back. "I love you, Hermione Weasley," he said a moment later. Hermione smiled in the dim light and placed her hand on his. She continued to study the board. Not noticing, that with the clouds building and the snow starting to fall, it was getting darker instead of lighter as the sun came up. It took her half an hour to find the answer.

"Lost again, didn't you?" she asked.

"Yes, Mione," he answered. Hermione pulled her hand out of the covers and swept her arm across the board, clearing it. She then began to replace the pieces. Arranging them as they had been the previous night when she had figured out that he had won. Ron curiously peered around her side watching her progress.

"It is the black side's turn," she whispered quietly to him. Ron recognized the positions before she finished placing the last piece. He rested his head on her back again and closed his eyes. "Play it to the end for me, Ronald." Her words were hardly out of her mouth before he directed the black side to move. In a steady succession of instructions that never paused, he made five more plays for each side.

"Check," the white, queen's side, bishop said to the black king.

"Finish the game," Ron said quietly to the black king as it turned to look towards him and Hermione. The black king nodded and moved sideways one space, striking the bishop so violently that it was thrown completely off of the table. Hermione watched in fascination, not quite catching the slight, sudden shudder that ripped through Ron's body as the bishop shattered on the stone floor. The white queen then moved across the board, her staff swinging through the air to strike the black king. The black king shattered, falling in tiny pieces around the queen's feet.

"I was right, you won, Ronald," she whispered in awe. Ron waved his hand towards the shattered pieces.

_"Repairo!"_he muttered, and then summoned the bishop to him. Holding it in his hand, he stared at it as if it was the most precious thing he had ever held in his life.

"I know, Mione….That was the second time. I won a little more than two weeks ago also," he answered struggling to control his voice. Hermione turned in his lap and pulled his face towards her so she could see his eyes.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked. Ron's body began to shudder. And she could see the fear that flashed in his eyes. Hermione felt her heart lurching in her chest.

_How can he be this scared that we are upset about him not telling us?_the voices whispered to her.

"I'm not angry with you, Ronald," Hermione said to him.

"I know, Mione." Hermione tilted her head at him, very confused by his behavior.

"Why are you so upset, then?" Ron turned away from her, pushing her suddenly out of his lap he stormed away towards his dresser.

"I'm not upset," he snapped. Hermione stood in the middle of the floor where he had deposited her. She watched him angrily pulling clothes out for the day and turn to go in the bathroom.

"You stop right there, Ronald Weasley!" she snapped at him. Ron stopped in his tracks and turned to face her but didn't meet her eyes.

"You will not walk away from me when I am talking to you," Hermione said angrily to him. Ron flinched as if she had slapped him. Hermione walked over to him and lifted his face so he had to look at her.

"Now tell me what is wrong," she said, her temper gone. Ron's mouth twitched slightly and she could feel him shudder again.

"Nothing is wrong, Hermione," he replied. "I'll find another way," he added and tried to head for the bathroom again. Hermione grabbed him by the arm.

"How many times do I have to tell you, that you will not walk away from me when I am talking to you?" she asked, her temper back again.

Ron had changed drastically the summer he bought the diary. He had resolved not to get in fights with Hermione about stupid things. He had realized that he needed to treat her differently if he was ever going to find a way to tell her he was in love with her.

Since Hermione had decided it would be Harry or Ron who she chose, she had come to the conclusion she needed to treat Ron differently if she was to ever hope he would look at her. Those separately made, yet mutually beneficial decisions had brought an end to the blazing rows of the first five years of their relationship.

This however, was not a subject that Ron was able to look at objectively. He was trying desperately, because he knew she didn't know what she was talking about, but Hermione was starting to push him too far. If he wanted some privacy, he had a right to it. Ron glared at her.

"I told you, nothing is wrong. There has to be another way, all I have to do is find it.  
Now, may I go shower?" he asked angrily.

"Another way to do what, Ronald?" she replied.

"Mione, we are supposed to open gifts with Harry and Ginny this morning. Not to mention the Christmas breakfast that is being served at 10:30. I would like to shower before we do any of that."

"You are not going anywhere until you answer my question."

"Another way to win the game, Mione," Ron snapped at her. "Now, may I go?" he asked in exasperation.

"No, you may not. You will tell me why you are so upset about some silly game." Her last comment was too much and Ron snapped.

"It is not some silly game!" he yelled at her. Hermione blinked in shock. She hated the way their relationship had brutalized each other's feelings before they both came to their senses. She knew she still infuriated him at times, and he did the same to her. They still had their disagreements and arguments, but hearing his voice raised in this manner against her again constricted her heart.

_He yelled at us,_the voices said, trembling with hurt.

"It is the plan, Hermione!" Ron continued to rant at her. "I didn't realize it until this morning. Those are not pieces on the board. They are people. THIS," he screamed, shaking the bishop that was still in his hand in her face. "IS MY SISTER!" he finished, and before she could recover turned and stormed into the bathroom slamming the door behind him.

Hermione stood in the middle of the room, staring at the bathroom door in shock, trying to digest what Ron had just said to her.

_What?_the voices whispered to her.

_How can the game be his plan?_her second asked timidly.

_It is a metaphor,_Hermione answered, as she quickly walked over to the board and set the pieces on it again. She studied it again for a moment, even with the bishop missing, she could see it.

_Oh my,_the voices whispered in fear to her. Hermione shook her head, regaining her composure; she quickly scribbled a note onto a piece of parchment.

"Pig, come here," Hermione called to the owl. "Quickly, take this to the Headmaster." She then walked over to the bathroom, pausing a moment before she entered. As she opened the door a wave of steam hit her. Hermione stepped into the bathroom, closing the door softly behind her. She quickly undressed and opened the door to the shower.

* * *

Ron sank to his knees on the floor of the shower letting the water wash over him as his body shook violently.

_You have been trying since the first time. Every game you have lost since then is because you tried to save her, or we were simply better,_the voices commented.

_There has to be another way,_Ron replied desperately.

_There is, you can tell Harry the secret from Ginny's memories and let him fight alone. He and Voldemort are equal though. Harry will destroy him, but there is little doubt it will cost him his life. You could sacrifice yourself, or Hermione, but Ginny is stronger than both of you. She will weaken him the most and give Harry the advantage that will let him live._

Ginny will die though,

Ron answered.

_That is not a given. Besides that, you know that if Ginny dies, so do we, so does Hermione. If either we or Hermione play the part you have for Ginny, all three of us will for sure die. Only Ginny has the means to escape. Only Ginny can do this and allow any of us to live,_the voices answered.

Ron turned when he felt the rush of cold air hit him from the shower door opening. He looked up at Hermione, the fact that the water was washing away his tears could not hide that he was crying uncontrollably.

"Mione," he whispered to her. Hermione closed the door and sank down on the floor of the shower with him. Pulling him into her arms, she held him, watching the water going down the drain as his body was wracked with sobs. When he calmed enough to look at her she just smiled at him.

"You told Dumbledore, didn't you?" he asked.

"Yes."

"There are other ways, Mione."

"It will work Ronald. Dumbledore will decide if you should keep searching. Forgive yourself, Love.

Hold me, Mione." Hermione pulled Ron close again letting him rest against her. After a short time she lifted his lips to hers and kissed him gently. He responded to her slowly then more forcefully as her hand slid along his arm. She took his hand and entwined her fingers with his, her kisses becoming more insistent and hungry. Hermione broke away from his lips kissing his chin and moving to his neck. Her teeth gently bit at him as she worked her way towards his ear. Ron's body shuddered with each touch of her lips on his skin.

"Make love to me, Ronald," she said to him.

"Here?" he whispered in reply.

With the water washing over them, Hermione pulled him on top of her as she laid back on the floor in response.

* * *

Ron sat on the couch holding his head in his hands, talking to the floor. Hermione was on the floor in front of him on her knees. Her arms wrapped around his legs she rested her head on his lap. Albus Dumbledore stared at the chessboard listening quietly. When Ron had finished, he let the debate rage in his mind.

Again he found himself amazed at one of his students. Actually both of them in the room confounded him. Hermione had not known the entirety of the plan, only that Ron had found something that would work. She had not flinched when she learned what hers and Ronald's role would be.

Dumbledore had known about the mind linking potion Hermione and Ginny had created. They had used it to increase the time they could stand against Harry. They all would have reached the point they were now at eventually. But it had accelerated their growth and by default Harry's. What he had not anticipated was the way Ron was going to use it to attack Tom. It was only a defensive weapon, or so he had thought.

_The boy is truly a strategic genius,_the voices remarked.

_We have known that since his first year,_Dumbledore replied.

_Yes we have. But this…._they answered.

_For once Harry will not rely on luck,_Dumbledore replied.

_Is she capable of standing against him like this? It will take two to three weeks to really have an effect on Tom,_the first voice said.

_We could do it,_Dumbledore's third said.

_Ginny's power now exceeds our own. She lacks knowledge, but we can change that. She is capable of doing this and will have Ron and Hermione helping her. She can also leave at any time. This is beyond brilliant,_Dumbledore said finishing the conversation.

"You have not told Harry or Ginny any of this yet?" Dumbledore asked quietly.

"Hermione and I figured out what we thought was the key in Ginny's scar a few weeks ago. We told Ginny about that and after looking at things in her mind again, all three of us are positive we have that correct. But I only figured this out," Ron said gesturing at the chessboard, "this morning."

Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully. "I would like to see these memories that each of you have of Ginny's possession," he said to them after a moment. Ron flinched.

"Wouldn't it be enough to see mine, sir?" he asked.

"It's ok, Love," Hermione whispered to him. Ron closed his eyes tightly as he tried to suppress the part of him that wanted to scream in agony.

"Why couldn't I have been born a Muggle?" he mumbled under his breath.

"Because I needed you, Ronald," Hermione answered him, squeezing his legs tightly in her arms. Ron opened his eyes to look at her.

"I love you, Mione," he answered smiling weakly at her.

_There is no doubt that they have found the key to defeating Tom,_Dumbledore's first commented after he had looked in both Hermione and Ron's minds. Dumbledore simply starred off into space as he contemplated everything Ron and Hermione had told him that morning.

"Sir?" Ron asked. Dumbledore's attention snapped back to Ron and Hermione.

"Neither of you has to do this," Dumbledore said.

"And Harry could run and hide; leaving us all at Voldemort's mercy," Ron growled at him. Dumbledore held his hand up to stop Ron from going further.

"You are both prepared to play these parts then?" he asked solemnly.

"Yes, sir," they replied together without hesitation.

"We want Harry to live, sir, not just destroy Tom," Hermione added.

"As do I. This does not guarantee that though," Dumbledore replied.

"It makes it more likely," Hermione retorted. Dumbledore held his hand up again for her to stop.

"It is not me that will need to be convinced or even Ginny, it is Harry. Let us hope she can make him see things her way." Ron and Hermione's only response was to exchange a nervous glance. "It is time to set things in motion then," Dumbledore continued. "Hermione, will you ask Harry and Ginevra to join us?" Hermione took a deep breath and slowly stood up; she kissed Ron on the top of his head and left the room.

* * *

"Come in," Ginny called over her shoulder; turning away from the mirror where she had been admiring the diamond earrings Harry had given her the night before. Hermione came in the room and stopped halfway to her.

"Happy Christmas, Hermione," Ginny said, brightly to her. "Sorry we're late. Harry and I will be out in a few minutes," she added. Hermione's mouth twitched into a smile as she looked at her.

"They're beautiful, Gin," she said, trying desperately to cover how uncomfortable she was. Ginny beamed at her.

"It was amazing, Hermione. He had dinner for two. The only light was from the moon. Dobby cast a ward spell to keep out the wind and the cold. He danced with me for hours, just the two of us, Hermione. I forgot about everything," she gushed.

Hermione smiled as best she could, but could not will away her tears when Ginny said she had forgotten all of her troubles. Ginny caught it a second later.

"What?" she asked nervously.

"Where is Harry?"

"He's in the shower," Ginny replied. Hermione opened her mouth and closed it again. She had no idea it would be this difficult to tell Ginny, and she was only telling her the plan was ready. She was not telling her what it was.

"What's wrong, Hermione?" Ginny asked, growing more nervous by the moment.  
"Please tell me that bastard hasn't attacked anyone today."

"The Headmaster is in our room right now. He would like you and Harry to join us," Hermione said quickly, and then dropped her eyes to the floor.

"What for?" Ginny asked her mind racing with the possibilities of what could be wrong. Hermione took a deep breath and raised her face to Ginny's again.

"Ron is finished, Ginny." Ginny looked at her quizzically for a moment. And then her eyes went wide while her lip started to tremble. A moment later she was blinking furiously.

"I'll….I'll get Harry," she whispered. Hermione nodded and turned to go, she was almost to the door when she stopped.

"Ginevra." Ginny looked up, Hermione had never called her that before.

"Y…Yes?"

"You should know that I made love to my husband this morning," she said. Ginny swallowed.

"Th…Thank you f…for telling me, Hermione….Harry and I will be there shortly."

"I'm sorry, Ginny….For everything," Hermione said, and quickly left before she couldn't walk anymore. Ginny stood in the middle of the room cold shivers running through her body. She wrapped her arms around herself tightly trying to control her shaking. As she looked around the room her eyes fell on her wedding photo and then the photo album of Harry's parents. The image of Lily simply gazed back at her.

"He will not die!" Ginny said angrily and then walked into the bathroom.

* * *

Harry stared in disbelief at Professor Dumbledore. He turned to Ginny.

"It can't be true, Ginny."

"Search your heart, Harry. You have seen every memory in my mind of Tom possessing me. You know what the truth is."

Harry thought about what he had been told, running through what had happened to Ginny when Tom had possessed her. The others simply watched him. Giving him the time he needed to reach the conclusions they had come to.

_It must be the truth,_the voices finally said to him.

_So how do we use it?_Harry asked.

_Ask Ron,_his second replied. Harry smirked at his own stupidity.

"So what is the rest of your plan, Ron?" he asked looking at his friend. Ron closed his eyes tightly. It was Professor Dumbledore who started explaining things to Harry and Ginny.

Harry's eyes grew wide and his heart started pounding in his chest. Without realizing it, his magic started to pulse in the room, rattling the windows in their frames and then his anger exploded.

"NO!" he thundered advancing on Ron. "How could you?" he demanded. Ron blanched but didn't back away from him. Ginny stepped in front of Harry before he could tackle Ron or worse.

"SIT DOWN!" she stormed back at him, power radiating from her. The air around her crackled with electricity and a breeze started to blow towards her in the manner it had rushed at her that past spring in the field, when she had stood over what she thought was Harry's dead body.

Hermione had seen this in Ron's mind. Even though Ginny had not reached the level of that display, her heart skipped a beat. It was enough to give Harry pause. His face twitched as he glared at Ron.

"Sit down!" Ginny demanded pointing at the chair Harry had just vacated. Harry's eyes shifted from Ron to Dumbledore to Hermione and then to Ginny.

"Sit down, Harry," she said softly to him. Harry slowly backed up and sat down in his chair again. Ginny moved in front of him; effectively trapping him.

"Ronald, Hermione, perhaps you should leave for now," she said while continuing to watch Harry. He may have acquiesced to her demands, but he was anything but calm. Ron and Hermione glanced at each other quickly.

"We're staying, Ginny," they replied.

"I am telling you to leave us. We will speak with you when my husband is in a reasonable state," Ginny told them calmly while glaring at Harry. The two of them glanced towards Professor Dumbledore, who nodded at them, indicating that they should leave. When the door closed behind them, Ginny spoke again.

"Do you think you can control yourself enough to listen to the rest or do we need to wait?" she asked. Harry scowled at her but didn't say anything.

"Just listen to the rest of it. We can discuss it afterwards, Harry."

"Fine," he replied slumping back in the chair. Ginny turned to Professor Dumbledore.

"Please finish, Headmaster," she said to him. Dumbledore let out a breath he had not realized he was holding and proceeded to finish telling Harry and Ginny the rest of Ron's plan. When he had finished, Ginny and Harry continued to simply glare at each other.

"Please leave us now, Professor," Ginny said when he had finished. Harry watched him go and the second the door closed, he was out of his chair.

"Ginny…." he started. She interrupted him.

"Did you really think Ron would do nothing to protect me?"

"I….No," Harry finally replied.

"You will apologize to him and Hermione." Harry folded his arms defiantly across his chest.

"And you're not going to do this. Neither are they," he answered, in a raised voice.

"And who will stop me!?" Ginny screamed at him. Her fists clenched at her sides as she leaned into the words she directed at Harry.

"I won't allow it Ginny!" Harry stormed back at her. "That Ron and Hermione are a part of it only reinforces that."

"Why not?" Ginny snapped tears of desperation starting to fall from her eyes. Harry softened instantly and moved towards her.

"Ginny, please, don't cry," he said softly to her. Ginny backed away from him as he moved to her. Harry paused in his advance, surprised that she would back away from him.

"Why not, Husband?" she yelled at him. "Why are you allowed to save the world, and I am not allowed to save you?"

"Because I can't handle you being hurt like this," Harry replied softly while taking a step towards her again. Ginny didn't back away this time, and Harry, thinking he had won, moved to close the rest of the distance between them.

"And I cannot live without you," she whispered as her tears streamed down her cheeks. Harry staggered back as if she had struck him.

"Y…You think I will fail?" he whispered his heart breaking. If Ginny didn't believe in him, he could never do this. Ginny saw the clouds filling his eyes and instantly moved to him grasping both sides of his face in her hands forcing him to look her in the eye.

"No, Husband. Never, for a second, have I ever doubted you. I know you will destroy him." Harry could see the truth of her words in her eyes and the strength returned to his heart. The clouds began to clear from his eyes as he spoke.

"Then why, Gin, why must I allow this?" he asked as he reached up and took her hands in his.

"Because I fear, we all fear, the price of your victory, this is the last thing we can do to help you live. This is the last thing I can do to help you live. You know that we can do this, Harry. You know I can do this."

"Ginny please…."

"Harry, I accepted that I would have to let you fight Tom that I would have to let you fight for me. Why haven't you accepted that I will fight for you?"

"I have Ginny, but not like this, not against him. Ginny I'm begging you; don't make me let you do this." The two of them looked at each other for a moment, silence hanging between them. "No, Ginny, please don't," Harry whispered in anguish when he realized what she was about to do.

"I'm sorry, Husband. This is my request."

"Ginny…." Harry pleaded sinking to his knees in front of her with his arms wrapped around her waist; his eyes closed tightly as he tried to prevent his tears from forming. Ginny placed her hands on the back of his head and pulled his face tight against her stomach. She held him for a few moments before she spoke again

"This is my request, Harry." Harry's shoulders slumped.

"You win, Ginny," he whispered in defeat.

"You will promise, Harry. You will promise not to disappear on me. You will promise not to run of to face him before it is time. You will wait until Ron sends you."

"I promise, Ginny." Ginny moved her hand from the back of his head to his chin and lifted his face so he had to look at her.

"I promise, Ginny," he said again when their eyes met. Ginny continued to lift her hand pulling him to his feet with her touch.

"I will save you, and you will save me, or we will die together," she said softly. "You have known that since the day you put your mother's ring on my finger. In truth we have both known it since the day you showed me the first prophecy." Harry sighed deeply and closed his eyes again.

"I'm sorry, Ginny."

"Harry, the only pain worse than your death would be having you deny me when you truly loved me, you have nothing to be sorry for. Forgive yourself and gather your strength. You will need it to save me."

Harry opened his eyes again and smiled at her. And while his smile was weak, the fire blazing away in his eyes was not. The clouds of doubt that sometimes still plagued him faded away leaving them crystal clear. She moved her hand to the side of his face, and returned his smile.

"I love you, Harry James Potter. I cannot begin to express it or show it. There is nothing that is good that I would not attempt if you asked me."

"I love you too, Ginevra Molly Potter."

* * *

Ron looked up when Harry and Ginny opened the door exiting his and Hermione's bedroom. Harry walked purposefully over and stood in front of Ron, who stood up to meet him. They looked at each other, searching for the right thing to say. Something passed between them without words or thought and they moved at the same time to embrace the other. Ginny came up behind Harry and wrapped her arms around both of them. Harry held his hand out to Hermione who took it and let him pull her into the embrace.

"We will be using Ronald's plan, Headmaster," Ginny said after a minute.

"I will begin the preparations," he replied quietly and headed towards the door.

"Professor." Professor Dumbledore stopped

"Yes, Ronald?"

"He may call our bluff, make sure things are in place for that also."

"We will prepare for everything we can, Ronald."

"Yes, sir."

"I am sorry, but you four must resume your normal schedules when classes start again. There are spies in the castle," Dumbledore said.

"We know, sir," Ron said.

"I know this will not be easy, but try to enjoy the rest of today and the Holidays."

"We'll try, sir," Ron replied. Dumbledore nodded and closed the door behind him.


	15. Chapter 15: Setting the Board

Please note the world of Harry Potter belongs to JKR. I'm only playing with her creation. Also the story image was a free download I found. Thank you to whomever it belongs. I will remove it immediately if asked.

* * *

Author's note:

As with, A Promise Kept and Harry Potter and the Blood Traitor, this is an older work that I am posting to help tide people over till my new works are ready. If I were to write this now, I would hit it with a pretty heavy editing hand. But I'm not writing it now and will be leaving it as is. Still, while it won't help this story, your comments will help my future work. So I will say it again, reviews are how you pay fanfic authors. I thereby challenge anyone who reads, like it or loath it to leave a review. I will do my best to respond to all signed reviews.

Also, I'm perfectly aware that with the title of the story and a quick google search you can find the whole thing. Certainly I can't stop you from doing so. Just know that I while I have not taken my works down from the old site, I no longer check anything there. If you want an answer to a question, you're going to have to contact me here.

Hope you like it.

Authors' note#2:

I suppose I should have expected this as my old work is going up. It was a very different life and more than five years since I said I was done with fan fiction. Now I'm back writing again. I'm on a new site with a new penname. A simple google search of the titles of my old work will direct you to mugglenet and the penname of huskers. So, I might as well say that yes, I use to post on mugglenet under the penname of huskers. Please read the bio there that directs you to find any new work as well as my old work here under the new penname of Sorcerer's Muse. Yes, I am one in the same. If you have any doubts that I am the same person and that all the work posted here is indeed mine, please go to mugglenet. Look up huskers' page and send an email with an appropriate code word of your choosing. I will then post that code word on my profile here to prove that I am the same person. **Note, I will not post anything vulgar or inappropriate.**

As always, thank you for reading my work.

Sorcerer's Muse

* * *

**Harry Potter and the Unlocked Mind**

**Chapter 15: Setting the Board**

* * *

Harry walked into the Apparation Training Room for the first DA meeting after the Christmas holiday and froze. Dumbledore was there along with Mark, Professor Lupin, Professor Tonks, Professor Chang and Madam Pomfrey. The members of the DA who were already in the room had congregated on the wall furthest away from their instructors and the lot of them were talking in cautious, yet excited whispers.

Harry's attention, however, was riveted on what could only be described as a prison cell that was located on the wall opposite and furthest away from the door to the room. The cell, or cage as it was, was encased with glowing blue ropes of magical energy. The ropes snaked around the cage in a continuously flowing movement that was at once peacefully hypnotic and terrifying in its purpose. They were the second barrier that prevented the two Dementors inside the cell from escaping.

"What's wrong?" Ron asked as he bumped into Harry from behind.

Harry's hand moved to his wand and he cautiously moved further into the room; stepping in front of Ginny as he did.

"I don't need you to protect me from a couple of dementors, Potter," Ginny growled at him; giving him a shove further into the room.

"Whoa…" Ron said as he stepped into the room and his eyes settled on the caged creatures. His own hand moved to his wand as he made room for Hermione to get a look. "How come it isn't cold in here?" he asked after a moment.

"You've never cast a patronus against real dementors before, Gin," Harry said, still keeping himself in between her and the cage.

Hermione got her first look at the cage a moment later. "Because, Ronald, those blue ropes have nothing to do with containing the dementors," she said. "The cage is more than enough for that. The ropes form a magical barrier that contains the magic of the dementors. The barrier keeps the cold of their poison from escaping into the room."

Ron and Harry both turned to look at her, mouths gaping.  
"How do you know that?" Ron demanded. Hermione rolled her eyes at them both and looked at Ginny for help.

"You two ought to read a bit more," Ginny remarked, flicking her wand at Ron and Harry, wrapping them both in the same blue coils of light that surrounded the cage containing the two dementors.

Ron and Harry both started to fidget uncomfortably from the sensation of being trapped inside the barrier. It felt something like when you bite down on a piece of tinfoil, only this seemed to permeate through their whole body.

"It's all in, Detaining and Capturing Dementors, by: Gavin Gladstone," Hermione said as she waved her wand at Ron and Harry, releasing them from the spell that Ginny had cast around them.

"Very good Mrs. Potter, Mrs. Weasley, ten points to Gryffindor," Professor Dumbledore said. Harry whirled to face him. He had not noticed the Headmaster, Professor Lupin, or Professor Tonks approach from behind while he was under Ginny's spell. "But you are not supposed to be using a wand, Mrs. Potter," Dumbledore said leveling his eyes on her. "Nor are you," he added with a stern look at Hermione.

Harry recognized the look in Ginny's eyes at the challenge and subtly moved away from the three professors. The effects of being trapped in the barrier had not hurt, but had not been particularly comfortable either.

_"Expecto Contineo Patronum!"_Ginny thundered as her hand flashed towards Professor Dumbledore. The blue coils of light shot from the palm of her hand, wrapping around the three professors and Ron, who had not had the foresight to move away from them. Harry smirked at his wife from the other side of the barrier she had erected.

"Ginny!" Hermione hissed as she once again canceled Ginny's spell; this time without using her wand.

"Was that acceptable, Professor?" Ginny asked. Professor Dumbledore was shaking his head slightly as he tried to clear it from the effects of the spell. When his eyes settled on Ginny they twinkled with mirth at her.

"I should know better than to have said anything to you, Mrs. Potter." He chuckled. He then turned to Harry. "Better you than me," he said with a smirk.

"I'll agree with that," Professor Lupin added as he massaged his right shoulder.

"I will too," Professor Tonks said. She was playing with her elbow like she had hit her funny bone particularly hard and was trying to get the tingling sensation to go away. "I never much liked the effects of that spell," she added.

"Hey, she put the spell on me too," Harry replied.

"Right, and we're all agreeing that we're glad you're the one who has to go home with her at night and not us," Tonks answered. Ginny was scowling at all of them while they smiled back at her and Harry.

"It's worth it," Harry said with a grin at Ginny.

_**"Flirt,"**_Ginny replied into his mind. Harry's smile grew bigger at her jibe.

"Oy, if the lot of you are finished hexing each other, the rest of us might like to know what the plan is for today," Dean Thomas called from where the rest of the DA was watching the exchange.

The group of them turned to the rest of the DA, and Dean quailed slightly under the eyes of his three professors.

"Sorry, sir, professors, I didn't mean to be cheeky. The rest of us were just a little curious.

"That is quite alright, Mr. Thomas. You were not out of line given the exchange that we were all engaged in," Professor Dumbledore said to him. Dean relaxed again as he realized that it was not just Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny who Professor Dumbledore felt deserved to be treated like an adult. "Just remember to be careful in how you address myself and your other professors given the situation you are in at the time," Dumbledore added with a glance at all of the assembled DA members.

"Yes, sir," Dean and the rest of the DA replied.

Dumbledore continued to survey his students with great pride. This group was advanced beyond where any of them should be in the area of defensive spells. Even the youngest of them, David McBride, the budding star of the Gryffindor Quidditch team and lone fourth year in the group was impressive to see in battle training. He was as competent in his fourth year in defense as Harry had been during his fourth year. And all of them had, at least to some extent, applied similar efforts to the rest of their studies.

These younger members of the DA, the ones who had not left school yet, minus Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Hagrid, and Neville would form the backbone of one aspect of the final battle. Mark and an as yet to be determined number of ministry employees not from the ranks of the Unspeakables or Aurors, were being tasked with fighting the dementors. These fifteen students, as long as everything went to according to plan, would join them.

This relatively _safe_task was being given to them because they would unlikely be in a position where they had to fight a Death Eater sending spells at them, and they would only have to concentrate on one thing. The more these students could do against the dementors, the fewer adults would be assigned to help them.

"The final battle between Voldemort and Harry draws near," Dumbledore said. The DA's eyes all shot to Harry, who nodded at them, and then back to Dumbledore. "You are all, if you are willing, going to be involved in some way," Dumbledore continued when he had their undivided attention. "Mr. Thomas, if you would move into the center of the room please."

Dean blinked at the mention of his name. Gulping visibly he nodded at Professor Dumbledore and moved to stand next to Mark who was beckoning to him.

With a wave of his wand Dumbledore conjured steel bars that grew out of the floor of the room rising to the ceiling, trapping Dean, Mark and Madam Pomfrey in one area of the room with the caged dementors and leaving the rest of the DA _safely_behind them.

Mark and Madam Pomfrey backed away from Dean, moving up against the steel bars of the prison cell that Dumbledore had created. The Unspeakable drew his wand and trained it on the cage holding the two dementors who, sensing that something in their prison was about to change, seemed to be looking more diligently for a way to escape it.

Dean's attention alternated between the caged dementors and the Unspeakable behind him. He had drawn his wand when he first moved into the center of the room and now the color had drained from his face.

"It's like Harry told Ginny when he walked in here, Dean," Mark said to him. "I've seen you cast a patronus before. But now, not even suffering any effects of the dementors, you look terrified just to see them. I suggest you put yourself in the correct frame of mind."

Harry watched Dean as a look of resolve came over his friend's face. Dean turned to face the caged dementors and a moment later, the blue ropes of magical energy that contained the cold of the dementor's poison disappeared from around the cage. The dementors instantly moved to the side of their cage nearest to where Dean was standing and a few moments latter, Harry felt the familiar chill of the dementor spreading across the room.

"I want you to use your patronus to force them back into the cage after I have let them out of it," Mark said from where he stood behind Dean.

Without taking his eyes off of the Dementors, Dean nodded. "Go ahead, Mark," he said. With a flick of Mark's wand, the steel bars that formed the wall of the cage that the dementors were pressing up against disappeared and the creatures began to float into the room towards Dean.

"Let them come to you, Dean," Mark coached him. "Give them a chance to affect you before you defend yourself. Make it a true test of your abilities. I'll be here if you need help."

Dean waited; the cold of the dementors began to seep into him and he struggled to maintain the focus of his mind on the memory that he always used to conjure his patronus. As the cold became more intense, his happy memory began to cloud and fade away.

The memories of the Death Eater attacks that had occurred on Harry's last birthday slowly began to fill Dean's head. The memory of his mum under the effects of the cruciatus curse while he battled to save his father and younger brother, before the Aurors arrived, flashed into his mind.

"Anytime would be good, Dean," Mark urged him as the Dementors began to circle in closer. Dean's wand came up and he shook his head trying to bring his focus back to his happy memory, clear it of his fears.

_"Expecto Patronum!"_he bellowed. The silvery substance that formed his patronus flew from the end of his wand in a stream hitting one of the dementors and driving it back. Dean turned his wand on the other dementor as he tried to make his patronus take its full shape. A few seconds later, he collapsed to the ground when his spell failed to fully form and the dementor forced its way past it.

_"Expecto Patronum!"_Mark thundered as he jumped forward to defend Dean. A silvery bear jumped from the end of Mark's wand and chased the two dementors away from Dean. Mark forced the creatures back into the cage and conjured the fourth wall of their prison. While Mark reset the blue ropes of magical energy around the dementor's cage, Madam Pomfrey rushed forward to Dean who was slowly sitting up; she pushed some chocolate into his mouth and handed him a mug of hot chocolate to drink.

"As you can see," Dumbledore said, bringing the attention of the DA from Dean to himself, "It is quite another thing to actually defend yourself from a dementor than to simply conjure a patronus." The members of the DA simply looked down at the ground or over to where Dean was now being lead out a side door that, they all knew, went directly to the hospital wing.

"Dean will be fine in another hour or so," Dumbledore said. "He will be ready to try again tomorrow night. All of you will receive new schedules from Professor Tonks before you leave tonight. You will all be training every day against the dementors. If any of you wish to leave and not be involved with this, you should say so now." Dumbledore's gaze rested for a moment on each of his students.

"We've trained against the Cruciatus curse, the Imperius curse, and any number of other dark magic curses. Some of us have even faced down the Death curse in battle. If you think a couple of dementors are going to send us running with our tails tucked between our legs, well, then, with respect, sir, you're nuts," Neville said squaring his shoulders as he addressed Professor Dumbledore.

"Yeah, what he said," Parvati Patil added.

"Yeah, what they said," the rest of the DA agreed forcefully. Dumbledore smiled at them.

"Very well then, Harry we already know you can handle dementors, so you will come with me to my office. I wish for Ronald, Hermione and Ginny to make an attempt against the Dementors next. If you are each successful, you will come to my office afterwards. Neville you will go fourth and if successful you will come to my office at 9:00pm tonight. I will leave it to the rest of you to determine what order you are going to proceed in after Neville."

"Yes, sir," The DA replied. Dumbledore turned to go and Harry turned to follow him.

"Sir?" Neville asked.

"Yes, Mr. Longbottom?" Dumbledore replied turning to look at his student.

"I don't know the password to your office."

_**"Mars Bars,"**_Dumbledore answered directly into his mind.

"Thank you, sir."

"I'll see you shortly, Mr. Longbottom," Dumbledore said and then he and Harry were gone.

"It looks like you're up then, Ron," Mark said. Ron turned to the Unspeakable and stepped through the hole that had been created in the steel bars separating the room in two. The hole sealed itself after he had passed through it and a moment later the magical blue ropes were gone from the dementor's cage.

"Let them come to you, Ron," Mark said as the wall of their cage disappeared and the dementors began to float into the room towards him.

* * *

Harry sat in a chair at Professor Dumbledore's desk, with the headmaster opposite him in his high backed, squashy arm chair. Every so often Fawkes floated back and forth between them, alternately resting on one of their shoulders.

"Pawn to H-two," Harry said instructing the chessman to move.

The two of them looked up at the door as the sound of the stone steps turning their way up to Dumbledore's office filled the room. A few moments later, Ginny, followed by Ron and Hermione came through the door. Harry stood up and met Ginny half way across the office.

_"Everything went alright then?"_he thought to her.

_**"You doubted me?"**_Ginny replied. Harry could feel the ice in the tone of her reply and that she was still angry with him for feeling like he needed to step in-between her and the dementors in the Apparation Training Room earlier that evening.

_**"It wasn't that I doubted you. I was just concerned. Anything can happen, Gin,"**_ Harry replied sending his own displeasure with her back across the connection. _**"Or would you prefer that your husband was unconcerned about his wife having to fight off dementors?"**_

_**"No,"**_Ginny replied softening as she reached her hand to touch his cheek, "I like having you concerned about me."

_**"Then don't get mad at me when I show it,"**_Harry replied pulling her by the back of the neck and kissing her forehead. Ginny rested her forehead on Harry's chin for a moment.

_**"I'm sorry, Husband. I just don't like to be treated like a child."**_Harry took her hand and pulled her to the couch next to the one Ron and Hermione had taken in the sitting area near the fireplace of Professor Dumbledore's office.

_**"Am I forgiven for trying to protect you?"**_Harry asked.

_**"Yes,"**_Ginny replied.

_**"Then you're forgiven for being angry with me for no reason,"**_Harry said.

Ginny squeezed his hand slightly as they sat down and Professor Dumbledore came out from behind his desk. He summoned his chair from behind his desk and conjured a small table in-between himself and his four students. As he sat down, he placed, what appeared to be, a small wooden box on the table. Harry couldn't tell exactly what was on it, but it appeared to have intricate carvings on the four sides and lid, while the bottom of the box had four small round knobs that acted as feet.

"I trust none of you had any difficulties with the dementors?" Professor Dumbledore asked as he surveyed them over his half moon glasses.

"No, sir," Ron replied.

"No, Headmaster," Hermione and Ginny said at the same time. Dumbledore smiled at them.

"I did not really expect that you would, but it is better to find out if you are particularly susceptible to something in a controlled situation than when your life depends on it."

_That's what we tried to tell, Ginny, you know,_Harry's first said.

_Well, considering that we came out ahead in that last little disagreement, I'm not going to hack her off by telling her, I told you so,_Harry replied to the voice.

_No, neither are we,_all four voices said together.

_Good, glad were in agreement on that then,_Harry said.

"Sir," Ron said pulling Harry out of his internal monologue," I thought all of the dementors had gone over to Voldemort's side when they left Azkaban.

"You would be correct in that statement. However, some have been recaptured in the battles since they first left Azkaban. And the Ministry has always kept a few caged deep within the Department of Mysteries for the Unspeakables and Aurors to train against. I'm not sure how many the Ministry currently has under its control, but I know that Minister Bones has decreed, if a means to do so can be found, that the creatures are to be destroyed. The Unspeakables are working night and day to find a solution. I'm afraid they will not meet with much success."

Harry blinked in shock. "Sir, I understand that they're foul creatures. But they're only following their nature. Don't they have…." Harry paused as he searched for the words he wanted, "a right to exist as much as we do?"

Ron and Ginny turned to Harry with their mouths gaping.

"How can you say that?" Ron asked somewhat angrily.

Hermione jumped in to defend Harry. "Ronald, every creature has a right to exist, even the dementors," she admonished him.

"Easy for you to say, Hermione, you don't relive being possessed by Tom Riddle when they're near you, or your mother being murdered when she tries to protect you," Ginny snapped at her.

"Harry does relive his mother's murder when he's near dementors, and he still thinks they have a right to exist, Ginevera," Hermione snapped back.

Harry and Ron both stared at each other in surprise at Hermione's use of Ginny's given name. Few people did so with her blessing, and those that did without it, didn't use it a second time.

"Please," Dumbledore said, holding up his hand and breaking into the argument.

Ginny stopped herself from retorting to Hermione's last statement. Shooting a last glare at her that said, this isn't over yet, she turned her attention to Professor Dumbledore.

Harry and Ron glanced nervously at each other as they noticed the last scowls sent by their wives at each other before they too turned to face Dumbledore.

"Harry, you are a truly remarkable person. You also, Hermione," Dumbledore said once he had their attention. "And I would agree with both of you on your thoughts except for two things. One; the dementor is evil in the same sense as Voldemort. Unlike any other creature I can think of, there is no capacity in them for good. They exist only to cause pain, suffering, death, or worse, the loss of one's soul. Two; the dementor is not a creature of nature. They have no means of reproducing themselves on their own. All of them that are in existence were created by Morgana's son Mordred.

"The dementors are the kings, queans, princes, princesses, knights, soldiers, peasants, and any other enemy who he and his mother captured instead of killed. Some of them are her own servants who fell into her disfavor. Every dementor that exists was once a living, breathing person like you or myself.

"They are the result of Mordred's experiments into immortality. He found a way to create an army that was almost unstoppable. Fortunately, most of the people he performed the transformation on did not survive the process. If they had, even Merlin would not have been able to stop Morgana from ruling the world.

"The two dementors you saw in the Apparation Training Room are what is left of what was once a person. A person, who, at one time, had hopes and dreams for their life; destroying the creature that is left, is merely sending a tortured soul to the rest it deserves."

The four of them had listened quietly to Professor Dumbledore's response and had each lost the color in their face as the explanation had gone on.

"I didn't know that, sir," Harry said softly while squeezing Ginny's hand tightly in his.

"Until recently, no one knew this except for myself and three other people. Now, you four join me in expanding the ring of this knowledge to six," Dumbledore replied.

"Six, sir," Ron said. "There are five of us in the room. With the other three you mentioned, wouldn't that bring the total to eight?"

"It would if the other three, were not dead," Dumbledore replied. His statement shocked the four of them into silence again for a short time. It was Ginny who broke it.

"Then the total should be five," she said.

"It should be, but I'm afraid the correct total is six," Dumbledore said.

"Who is the sixth, Headmaster?" Hermione asked. It was Harry who provided the answer.

"Voldemort knows, doesn't he?" he said.

"Yes," Dumbledore replied simply. He and his four students fell silent for a few minutes while he let them contemplate this news.

"Headmaster, what is the reason for keeping this a secret, and why are you telling us all of this?" Hermione asked.

Dumbledore pushed the box he had set on the table towards Hermione. She picked it up and examined it carefully before passing it to Ron. Ron tried to open it, but the lid wouldn't move even after he tried a number of different unlocking spells. He passed it to Ginny, who began to examine it. Dumbledore started to speak while they were passing the box around.

"Once Morgana had been defeated, Merlin found what he named, The Tomes of the Damned. The tomes contained the knowledge of how the dementors had been created, and how they could be destroyed. He hid the tomes and then hid the information of their location with four secret keepers.

"No, one, keeper has ever held all of the information to the location of the tomes, nor have they ever known who the other three keepers were. This was done to protect the tomes from a keeper who had decided to use them for evil purposes; to prevent the creation of more dementors. That is why it has been kept secret as to how they came into being. If no one knew that they had been created, then it made it that much more difficult to figure out how to create more of them."

"And now Voldemort knows that they were created from humans and wants to make more of them," Ron groaned.

"Why didn't Merlin simply destroy the dementors and the tomes?" Ginny asked.

"He tried, but was unable to do so," Dumbledore sighed in reply. "The tomes can only be destroyed by the wand of Morgana and the Dementors can only be destroyed by the wand that created them; in this case, the wand of Mordred.

"Merlin was unable to wield either wand and unable to find a witch or wizard who could. Hiding the tomes, along with the wands of Morgana and Mordred was the only solution he could come up with. Instead of having all knowledge of the tomes pass away, and leaving fate to decide who would find them and what to do with them, Merlin assigned four Keepers as protection. His hope was that some day someone would be born who could wield the wands. The tomes and the dementors could then be destroyed.

"Shortly after he had hidden the tomes and wands a prophecy was made," Harry and Ron both groaned at this news. Professor Dumbledore continued like he had not heard them. "Merlin recorded the prophecy and hid it with the tomes. He gave the Keepers of the tomes part of the information in the prophecy. This part would let the Keepers know that the ones who could wield the wands of Morgana and Mordred were alive and that it was time for the tomes to be recovered."

"What does the prophecy say, Headmaster?" Hermione asked. Professor Dumbledore started writing with his wand in the air in response to Hermione's question.

THE HEIR OF THE HOUSE OF THE SNAKE WILL RISE ANEW…THREE OF FOUR WILL FALL... IF THE EQUAL CAN DEFEAT THE HEIR TO THE HOUSE OF THE SNAKE A SECOND TIME, THE ENDING OF THE SOUL STEALERS ENSLAVEMENT IS AT HAND FOR THEIR DESTRUCTORS HAVE RISEN...

"Bloody wonderful news that is," Harry grumbled.

"What's so bad about it?" Ginny demanded.

"Well, the fall of three of the Keepers for one, Gin."

"Oh," Ginny gasped, her hand moving to cover her mouth as she realized what the second sentence of the prophecy meant.

"And the fact that if I fail to destroy Voldemort, the dementors will continue to exist, and that Voldemort will likely create more of them. I assume that Voldemort must have somehow found the other three Keepers and that's how he knows about the tomes and wands of Morgana and Mordred in the first place?" Harry asked turning from his wife to Dumbledore.

"The other three Keepers all perished in the first year of Volemort's second rising," Dumbledore answered. "Professor Snape has confirmed that he remembers seeing at least one box exactly like the one you see there, sitting on the mantel of the fireplace in Voldemort's chambers."

Harry picked the box up and began to turn it around as he examined it more closely. Each side of the box had a wreath of thorns carved into it and inside of the wreath was a different animal. The top of the box was divided into quarters and repeated the wreath and animal symbol of one side of the box. Three of the wreaths on the lid of the box were empty.

"The gorilla, seagull and fox on the sides of the box represent the animagus form of three of the four Secret Keepers," Professor Dumbledore said while Harry continued to examine the box. "Their symbol is missing from the lid of the box because they have passed on to the next world. When a Keeper dies, their box will disintegrate and the information that they carried with them to finding the tomes is sent to the remaining boxes. You can safely surmise that this is the only box left, and contains the three clues that when combined with the information I carry in my head will lead a person to the tomes that tell how to create and destroy dementors."

Harry turned the box around to the fourth side and traced his fingers over the Wolf and Dolphin that existed in the fourth wreath.

"Sir," Harry said quietly, "there are two animals in this wreath. I thought a person could only assume one animagus form." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled at him.

"I should think that your own animagus form would tell you not to believe everything you have been told, Harry."

"I suppose I should expect that it would be you, if anyone, who would have more than one animagus, sir."

"It came as a shock to me also. As a young man, I had a fondness for sailing. I happened to be at sea many years ago and was caught in a storm. My boat sank, plunging me into the frigid waters of the North Sea. I allowed myself to panic and instead of simply apparating to shore, I attempted to start swimming. Well you can imagine that it took little time for me to become frozen and weak from my efforts.

"In a moment of inspiration, I thought perhaps in my wolf form I would survive longer. I had always been physically stronger in that shape than I had as a person, and I knew that it took very little effort to change shapes. It was about all I had energy left to try. Imagine my surprise when I became a dolphin instead of a wolf." Dumbledore finished. Harry chuckled slightly at the image in his mind.

"I think you must have been a bit relieved also," he replied with a slight smile.

"Yes, once I figured out what had happened, I was more than a little relieved," Dumbledore answered. Harry set the box back on the desk and fixed his eyes on Dumbledore in a serious manner.

"You still haven't said why you're telling us all of this?" Dumbledore sighed.

"As I am the last of the Keepers alive, it has come to me to be the one to select the next set of Keepers and pass the knowledge on to them. I have made my decisions, and for the first time all of the Keepers will know one another," he replied. Harry closed his eyes and let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding.

"I assume you intend for me, Ginny, Ron and Hermione to be the new Keepers?" he asked when he opened his eyes.

"All of you please place a hand on the box." Dumbledore's response was given as a command more than a request.

"And what if we don't want to be a Keeper?" Harry asked angrily. "Isn't it enough that my life, our lives, are cursed with prophecies and Voldemort already? Maybe once all of this is done, if any of us manage to live, we don't want to be responsible for something like this.

"If the dementors are to be destroyed, why don't you just take the knowledge of the location of these tomes, the wands and the prophecy and go get them. Find the prophecy, figure out who is supposed to wield the wands and have them destroy the tomes and the dementors and be done with it. Why do you have to curse us with this burden?"

"I have already tried, Harry. I was unable to open the chamber where the tomes are hidden. While I had the knowledge, I did not have the power needed. It is my hope that the four of you will be able to do what I can't. That is why I am risking allowing the Keepers to know who the others are."

"Voldemort knows three of the four clues and this significantly narrows where he needs to look to find the tomes. If we can, we need to, at the least, move the tomes to a new location.

"There is one other reason for you four to become the new Keepers of the location of the tomes. You are all about to be tested in a way that will stretch you as never before. While none of you lack for power, you all lack in knowledge. There is no way for you to gain the knowledge you will need to live, unless you do this," Professor Dumbledore finished. The four of them looked at each other for a few moments and then turned back to Dumbledore.

"How will doing this give us the knowledge to survive?" Hermione asked.

"Merlin knew that the Keepers of the tomes would be in constant danger of someone finding the secret they carried," Dumbledore answered. "He knew they would have to be capable sorcerers, but he also knew that it was possible for a sorcerer to become a Keeper before they gained the knowledge to truly protect the tomes. He bound a spell that ties the knowledge of past Keepers into the box you see there. If you become Keepers yourself, the knowledge will be passed into you. You four will gain all the knowledge of magic that I and the past Keepers have to give you."

Harry slumped back in the couch next to Ginny pulling her back against his chest. He could feel her astonishment through the connection they now shared and always kept open between them. Looking across the table he could see Ron and Hermione trying to process this information. After a moment or two, Hermione opened her mouth to say something but then closed it again before she did. Finally, Ron managed to put a sentence together.

"All your knowledge, sir?" he asked.

"The knowledge yes, the practical use of it no, it will be like the difference between a written exam and actually casting the spell. You all know there is a difference in the two. However, if you know the theory, and you have confidence in your ability you will be able to apply the knowledge."

"I'd never have to study again," Ron said, clearly enjoying the thought.

Hermione smacked his arm. "Even the Headmaster can learn new things, Ronald" she snapped at him. And then realizing that she had just, somewhat, insulted Professor Dumbledore she stammered an apology to him.

"I…I'm sorry, sir. I didn't mean to…" Dumbledore cut her off with a wave of his hand.

"You are quite correct, Hermione. There is always room to learn, and you will all need to complete your schooling and the assignments that go along with it. You will still find yourselves challenged despite the knowledge that is given to you. I know that I did," he said.

"Personally, I would rather figure it out the hard way," Harry said as he sat forward and placed his hand on the box. But like always, it seems I have little choice in what I do." Harry fixed Dumbledore with a glare. Ginny leaned forward to place her hand on the box and a moment later, Ron and Hermione did the same. Professor Dumbledore placed his hand on the box also.

"I'm sorry, Harry," he said.

"Just do whatever it is you have to," Harry replied.

Professor Dumbledore nodded and proceeded to say a series of incantations. After he had finished, the box began to glow with a golden light and a feeling of warmth surged up Harry's arm into his mind. He along with Ron, Hermione and Ginny blacked out a moment later. The box with the gorilla, fox, seagull, wolf and dolphin disintegrated into dust and four new boxes formed from it. The new boxes were adorned with carved images of a lion, lioness, phoenix and dragon.

Professor Dumbledore slowly stood up from his chair. "Dobby," he called out and turned a second later at the sound of the house elf apparating into the office.

"The Headmaster is wanting to see…" Dobby trailed off when he noticed Harry and the others slumped over on the couches.

"They're all fine, Dobby. Please move them to their rooms. This box belongs to Harry," Dumbledore said pointing to it. "This one to Ginny, this to Ronald, and the last is Hermione's," he continued indicating each of the boxes in turn. "Leave them on their nightstands with them."

"Yes, sir. Dobby will do as sir asks," Dobby replied.

"Thank you, Dobby."

"You is welcome, sir." Dobby snapped his fingers and he was gone, taking Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny along with the boxes with him.

* * *

Two days after Harry and the others had become the Keepers of the, Tomes of the Damned, the wands and the prophecy, Voldemort and Peter Pettigrew walked to the base of the Sphinx in what was once the heart of power in ancient Egypt.

Raising his wand Voldemort repeated a series of incantations and a bolt of blue-green light shot from his wand towards the missing nose of the Sphinx. A portal opened and the nose of the giant statue appeared.

"Retrieve whatever is in the right nostril, Wormtail," Voldemort hissed as he struggled to keep the portal open.

Peter levitated the ropes he had brought up and around the head of the Sphinx and began to climb up them to the creature's nose. He reached into the fist sized hole of the nostril and his heart dropped into his stomach when he realized it was empty. He searched frantically for a moment with his hand and then in desperation checked the other nostril. Finding nothing in it either, he pulled his wand and attempted to summon what he had been told was there. A few moments later, the portal closed and the nose of the creature disappeared. Peter lowered himself down and scampered across the ground to his master; falling to his knees when he reached him.

"My Lord, it was empty," he whimpered. The two of them disappeared and moments later Peter was writhing on the floor under the effects of the Cruciatus curse in front of the chair that Voldemort was sitting in. Voldemort smiled as the sounds of Peter's screams filled the room.

* * *

Professor Dumbledore looked up as Fawkes apparated into his office. The phoenix floated down onto his shoulder and he reached up to take the message from the bird's talon. He read it quickly and then tossed it into the fireplace.

"Thank Merlin," he breathed. "I didn't expect him to find the hiding place so quickly."

"Harry and the others moved, The Tomes of the Damned, successfully then?" Phineas Nigellus asked from his picture frame on the wall.

"Yes," Dumbledore answered.

"And where have they been hidden now?"

"I have no idea," Dumbledore replied.

"Good," Phineas said. "And do you know who the Destroyers of the Soul Stealers are?"

"No, nor do any of the Keepers of the tomes. The dementors cannot be destroyed until Voldemort falls. There is no reason for anyone to know who the Destroyers of the Soul Stealers are until that time. It would only endanger them."

"I see," Phineas said. "And what of this fool's errand you send Harry's wife and his two friends on. Would it not be better to simply let him go and only risk the loss of one of them instead of all four?"

"I have no choice in the matter. Ronald must plan Harry's victory, or Harry must do it himself. Harry has agreed to the plan, and any interference on my part would lead to his defeat. You saw the results of my interference with the prophecy last summer. I will not risk more lives by trying to circumvent it again."

"So you will kill Potter's wife and his two friends instead?" the picture demanded. The other pictures on the wall had watched the exchange in silence up to this point and now started to shout their displeasure with the picture of Sirius Black's great-great-grandfather.

"Let me thump him for you, Headmaster," a severe looking witch called from her frame. Phineas was unbowed by the jeers of the other pictures.

"That's enough!" Dumbledore thundered silencing them all. "From all of you," he added with a glare at Phineas. "You know as well as I do, Phineas, that I am merely a pawn in this war. My only importance is my knowledge and the fact that my influence with the Minister and thereby the Ministry gives Ronald the resources he needs when he wants them. Ginny has the knowledge she needs to live through what she is going to attempt. What else would you have me do?"

"She knows theory, Dumbledore. You yourself said there is a difference between theory and practice," Phineas retorted angrily.

"And all she needs to be able to use that theory is confidence in her own ability. Do you doubt that she has it?" Dumbledore demanded as his own temper began to rise. "Harry is no better off, should I just send him to what you believe is sure to be his death?"

The picture of Phineas scowled at Dumbledore. "At least test them, make them use as much of this theory as you can before you send them out to fight him."

"Hermione has already begun to compile a list of the spells that the four of them now know. Tonight they will begin casting them. They will do that every night from now until the week before we set our plan in motion. That is the best that can be done. Anymore, than that and they will become weaker instead of stronger. I must not allow them to become drained before the battle."

"Fine, wash your hands of it. It is your conscience, Dumbledore," Phineas said.

Dumbledore stared stonily at the picture. "Phineas, you are dangerously close to being removed from the walls of this office," he said. "Unless you have something to say that might help me, instead of berating me, I would advise you to hold your tongue."

"Cast the dark magic spells against them that force them to use the knowledge they have been given," Phineas replied.

"You know that cannot be done. If they were to make a mistake, they would be severely injured or even killed before the battle has taken place. The only training against the magic they are going to face will be to practice the counter spell. Like myself, the Aurors, Unspeakables and everyone else who fights against dark wizards, the first time they have to use one of those spells to defend themselves for real, they will have to be successful."

"You cast the Death curse at Harry. What if his Phoenix spell had failed, what if Fawkes had failed to intercept the curse or the desk he threw between himself and the curse had failed to stop it? What is the difference between that and this?" Phineas demanded.

Dumbledore peered at the picture over his glasses for a moment before he replied. "I will consider it." He then turned and walked up the stairs into his private chamber.

"You're lucky I can't cast those curses at you," the severe looking witch said to Phineas after the door to Dumbledore's private chamber had closed.

"Shut up you old battle-axe," Phineas replied before he walked out of his picture frame.

* * *

Author's note:

I did a fair amount of research online into the linage of the characters of Morgana and Mordred. The legend and mythology of King Arthur is such that you can find anything you want regarding who is related to who in the story. For the purposes of my story, Mordred is the son of Morgana and some unknown Wizard.


	16. Chapter 16: Whose Trap Is It?

Please note the world of Harry Potter belongs to JKR. I'm only playing with her creation. Also the story image was a free download I found. Thank you to whomever it belongs. I will remove it immediately if asked.

* * *

Author's note:

As with, A Promise Kept and Harry Potter and the Blood Traitor, this is an older work that I am posting to help tide people over till my new works are ready. If I were to write this now, I would hit it with a pretty heavy editing hand. But I'm not writing it now and will be leaving it as is. Still, while it won't help this story, your comments will help my future work. So I will say it again, reviews are how you pay fanfic authors. I thereby challenge anyone who reads, like it or loath it to leave a review. I will do my best to respond to all signed reviews.

Also, I'm perfectly aware that with the title of the story and a quick google search you can find the whole thing. Certainly I can't stop you from doing so. Just know that I while I have not taken my works down from the old site, I no longer check anything there. If you want an answer to a question, you're going to have to contact me here.

Hope you like it.

Authors' note#2:

I suppose I should have expected this as my old work is going up. It was a very different life and more than five years since I said I was done with fan fiction. Now I'm back writing again. I'm on a new site with a new penname. A simple google search of the titles of my old work will direct you to mugglenet and the penname of huskers. So, I might as well say that yes, I use to post on mugglenet under the penname of huskers. Please read the bio there that directs you to find any new work as well as my old work here under the new penname of Sorcerer's Muse. Yes, I am one in the same. If you have any doubts that I am the same person and that all the work posted here is indeed mine, please go to mugglenet. Look up huskers' page and send an email with an appropriate code word of your choosing. I will then post that code word on my profile here to prove that I am the same person. **Note, I will not post anything vulgar or inappropriate.**

As always, thank you for reading my work.

Sorcerer's Muse

* * *

**Harry Potter and the Unlocked Mind**

**Chapter 16: Whose Trap Is It?  
**

* * *

The common area of the flat that Harry and Ginny shared with Ron and Hermione in the Gryffindor tower was crowded with people. Professor Dumbledore, Professor Lupin, Professor Tonks, along with Mark and Mad-Eye Moody all stood or sat in the sitting area speaking with each other in hushed voices. Dean Thomas, Professor Cho Chang, Professor Katie Bell, and Neville Longbottom were at the dinning table with Ron and Hermione. The six of them sat there in nervous silence. Every few minutes, each of them could be caught glancing furtively between the vials of potions on the table and the door to Ginny and Harry's bedroom.

It was now the last week of March and so far everything had gone the way Ron had planned. The question was, with his and Voldemort's plans about to collide, would Voldemort flinch? They all hoped not, that he would continue to play the _game_like he was in charge.

Professor Dumbledore had slowly set Ron's plan into motion and they were about to make their opening move in a battle that was expected to last three to four weeks. Success depended on Voldemort not realizing that the battle started today, and not when Harry would show up a few weeks later.

All of them looked up when the door to Harry and Ginny's bedroom opened. Harry followed Ginny out of the room and stood silently as he and the rest of the people watched her start to drink down the different vials of potions. Ginny set the last vial down and waited a moment. After a short time, she felt it happen.

"The connection is established, Headmaster," she said.

It was a moment before Dumbledore replied. "Very well then. Do not over-estimate yourself, Ginevra," he said quietly.

"I will be fine, Professor."

"Do not over-estimate Ronald or Hermione either," he replied, glancing at each of them in turn.

"Yes, sir," Ginny said quietly.

Professor Dumbledore nodded at her and turned to the other occupants of the room. "It is time then," he said. "You all know what to do. The _game_begins the second we leave this room and all of our lives depend on the performance you give." Everyone nodded in reply.

"Be strong, Ginevra," he said with a last look in her direction. He then he walked to the fireplace stepped into it and flooed to his office. With a last glance at all of them Mad-Eye followed him. Mark, Remus, Tonks, Cho and Katie all stepped forward to hug Ginny and then they too flooed to Professor Dumbledore's office.

"I'll meet you two at the front entry with everyone else, ok?" Ginny said to Dean and Neville.

"Ok," they both replied. Neville stopped to hug each of them and then exited the door of the flat into the Gryffindor common room.

Dean moved to follow him, stopped and turned around to look at his four friends. The war had already claimed his best mate when Seamus Finnigan had been killed last July, and after today he was unsure if he would ever see Harry, Ron, Hermione or Ginny again.

"I…" he started. But Ginny and Hermione simply closed the distance between them and pulled him into their arms. Ron and Harry moved to do the same.

"For Seamus," Dean said looking at each of them in turn.

"For Seamus," Ginny replied smiling at him.

"And everyone else," Ron added.

"And everyone else," Dean agreed with a nod before he left the room.

Harry watched him go and when the door closed, he pulled Ginny to him and kissed her fiercely. She broke from him and settled against his chest. Ron and Hermione moved to them and they surrounded Ginny between them.

"I need to go," Ginny whispered after a few moments.

"I know," Harry replied.

"I will come to you, Husband."

"I know, Gin."

* * *

Ginny meet Dean and Neville at the front entry to the castle with the rest of the students who were going to Hogsmead for the day. The trip had been announced only yesterday, and was open only to students who were seventeen or older. Ginny, having been given the rights of an adult when her parents allowed her to marry that past spring was allowed to go also.

The trip was a concession by Dumbledore to the growing discontent of his students about the trapped nature of their school year. He had not allowed any visits to the village of Hogsmead because of the attacks of last July. But the lack of any attack from Voldemort or his Death Eaters since the school year had begun had brought cries of injustice from his students. Who had short memories.

The petition that had started in January when students returned from the Christmas holidays, had been presented to him the second weak of March, signed by almost every student from third year and above, including the members of the DA.

Dumbledore had been appropriately displeased; but had conceded to the students who were of age, that they should be able to choose for themselves. This had served to anger those students who were not of age, but Dumbledore could not let them go into the trap the rest of them were walking into.

Harry, Ron and Hermione were not going. Having the day before the announced visit, earned themselves detention from Snape for causing their cauldron to melt when brewing the combined hearing and sight enhancement potion.

Professor Snape had returned from delivering the news of the trip to Voldemort in very bad shape. Even though Snape had assigned the detention before he knew of the trip to Hogsmead. Voldemort had been furious with him. And he had punished Snape severely for his _mistake_.

Still, Snape had persuaded Voldemort that even though he could not change the day of the detention without raising Dumbledore's suspicions, all was not lost. And in the moments where Voldemort had stopped sending the cruciatus curse at him, Snape had convinced Voldemort that it might be better this way anyways. That if, instead of a full out assault tomorrow, in the shadow of Hogwarts. They were to capture the girl instead. Then surely her husband and the other two would come to her rescue. If they did, the battle could occur in a place more to Voldemort's advantage; Slytherin castle for example.

Voldemort had stopped punishing Snape at that point and given him a new task. The first major confrontation of the chess game that both Ron and Voldemort had been playing since just after the attacks of Harry's birthday had occurred, and so far, Ron was wining.

Now, since Harry, Ron and Hermione couldn't go, Ginny's _guard_, to make it look good, consisted of Neville, Cho, Katie Bell, and Dean Thomas.

The Village of Hogsmead was crawling with members of the Order and Aurors. Voldemort would expect their presence to be heavy, given how much Dumbledore had fought against the visit in the first place.

Ginny, Dean and Neville waited patiently for Cho and Katie to finish checking each of the students going into Hogsmead out of the school. When they had, the three of them joined their other two friends. Ginny nodded to them and the five of them started for the gates of the school grounds. When they got there they were met by the twins, Fred and George, and their girls, Alicia and Angelina. Fred and George both looked like they were going to be sick.

"Gred!" Ginny shouted running out to meet Fred and crushing him in her arms. "What are you guys doing here?" she demanded as she pulled George to her.

_**"Change the look on your faces,"**_ she hissed in Fred and George's minds as she turned to greet Alicia and Angelina. _**"This is supposed to be fun,"**_Ginny added hugging each of the girls in turn and generally looking like she was up for a good time. Fred and George both smiled slightly and proceeded to try and act like their normal selves.

"Dobby stopped by the shop last night and told us about the Hogsmead visit," Fred said.

"And how disappointed our little Gin Gin was because Snape had given not only her hubby," George added.

"But also Ron and Hermione detention for the day and she wasn't going to have anyone to go to town with," Fred picked up.

"So these two gits," Angelina said.

"Decided they couldn't allow their baby sister to be alone for the day," Alicia picked up.

"And decided to bless you with their presence," Angelina finished.

Ginny, Dean, Neville, Cho, Katie, Fred and George all blinked in surprise and started laughing at Alicia and Angelina.

"What?" the two girls demanded together.

"You two have been dating my brothers for so long, that you're starting to talk in twinsspeak," Ginny replied, still giggling at the two girls. They looked at her incredulously.

"We didn't, did we?" they gasped together. Ginny snorted again at their simultaneous question.

"Oh, you two are ruined for anyone else. You've both got no choice but to marry them now," she teased.

"Oy, who said anything about getting married?" Fred demanded as his face blanched.

"Yeah, we have things to do," George quickly added.

"Places to go," Fred said.

"People to meet."

"Joke shops to open."

"Pranks to play," George finished. Alicia and Angelina rounded on the twins.

"Oh, so we're holding you two back?" Alicia started.

"Dragging you down?" Angelina added.

"Now wait…" George backtracked.

"Stifling your creativeness?" Alicia continued.

"That's not…" Fred tried to cut in.

"Who was it that figured out how to get past Percy's wards, Alicia?" Angelina asked.

"We didn't…" George started.

"I think that was you, Angelina," Alicia replied. "And who was it that finally figured out the correct ingredients for the antidote to the Treacle Too Tarts?" she asked.

"But…" Fred said.

"Why that was you, Alicia," Angelina answered.

"Forget it, Fred," George managed to finally get in as Alicia and Angelina started walking towards Hogsmead, all the while continuing to go back and forth with their complaints about Fred and George.

"Thanks a lot, Ginny," Fred said as he and George set off after their girls.

"You're welcome," Ginny replied brightly as she stepped between her brothers and hooked her arms with theirs. "I'm always happy to make your lives difficult," she added.

"You know you're going to pay for this," Fred said to her.

"Not nearly as much as those two are going to make you pay for your comments about getting married," Ginny replied. The twins both groaned in reply.

Cho, Neville, Dean and Katie, still laughing at the exchange they had just witnessed, fell in next to Ginny and the twins as the group of friends made their way towards the villiage.

_**"Keep your eyes open, Cho,"**_Ginny thought to her.

_**"Do you have any idea when it will happen?"**_Cho asked.

_**"No, just be ready to fight when the time comes and make sure we stay away from too many of the other students,"**_ Ginny replied.

* * *

Harry, Ron and Hermione sat scrubbing bed pans in the hospital wing. It was necessary for them to appear to be serving their detention; no one knew exactly where and how many spies Voldemort might have in the school. They had to play out their role, or risk that Voldemort would see their trick and change his plans accordingly.

_**"You can feel her?"**_Harry asked for the twelfth time since they had parted ways with Ginny after leaving the Gryffindor tower.

_**"Yes, Harry. Trust me, the potion will work,"**_Hermione replied. Both she and Ron tensed a moment later.

_**"It's happening,"**_ they said together.

* * *

"Cover her!" Cho shouted as she erected a shield spell to deflect the stunning spell that had been sent at her. Caught in the open, outnumbered more than three to one, with Angelina already down from a stunning spell, the eight remaining DA members formed into a defensive circle around their fallen friend.

Even before she drew her wand, Ginny cast a Phoenix charm, expanding it around the group. She did not expect to face the death spell right now, they needed her alive if they were to get to Harry. She, however, was not going to take a chance. Truth be told, Ginny almost hoped they would use the spell. She could defend against it easily enough, and it would allow her to use the spell in return without destroying her conscience.

The battle raged, spells flying furiously through the air deflecting in what seemed every direction possible. Along with the Phoenix charm and her personal shield, Ginny had erected a much larger and simpler shield around her and her friends. It protected them from some, but not all of the spells that the Death Eaters sent at the DA members.

Despite her own shield and the added protection of the one Ginny had erected, Katie fell on Ginny's left. Ginny saw it and while she continued to use her wand in her right hand to return fire against the Death Eaters, she waved her left hand at Katie's fallen body; moving it directly behind her and into the protection of her personal shield.

Her anger started to grow, getting the better of her, and the spells that flew from Ginny's wand grew in power accordingly. Binding spells that overwhelmed the shields of the Death Eaters she hit, stunning spells that threw them twenty and thirty feet across the road. Chaos was starting to form in their ranks. Ginny and the DA continued to suffer also. Alicia, and Dean joined Angelina and Katie as unconscious casualties and George, while still fighting, appeared to have suffered a broken leg from a crushing spell.

Severus Snape watched the battle from behind a tree; Voldemort watched it through his eyes. _**"Master, what would you have me do?"**_he asked.

Voldemort watched, his own anger growing by the second. While his Death Eaters had effectively taken out five of the girl's friends, their true objective was making a mockery of them. The girl fought at a disadvantage, standing in one spot; taking everything they sent at her while she tried to defend her friends. And they had yet to truly test her, much less get close enough to capture her.

Voldemort had known she was powerful. He had seen her fight before, but this was beyond what he had expected. For all the success his Death Eaters were having, they may as well have been trying to take Dumbledore. He could go himself and attempt to take her or have Snape do it.

Voldemort blinked at the loud pop coming from the battle zone in front of Snape. The Aurors had started to come to the aid of the students. And there, he saw two of Dumbledore's Defense Against the Dark Arts instructors rushing to join the girl in the middle of the road where the attack had occurred. Voldemort was out of patience; though Snape was the highest placed, he had other spies.

_**"Bring her, Severus,"**_he replied.

Severus Snape stepped out from behind the tree sending spells at his fellow Death Eaters, several of them turned on him in response; missing him as he ran to the group of students in the middle of the road. He dashed into their midst, Ginny made room in their circle for him and continued to send spells at the remaining Death Eaters. She turned her back on Snape and a second later crumpled to the ground when he slammed a rock into the back of her head. Snape then placed the rock on her chest, touched it himself, tapped it with his wand and they were both gone a second later.

A moment after Snape had taken Ginny, the dark mark burned on the arms of the Death Eaters. One of them pointed his wand straight up, sending the dark mark into the sky. He then disapparated along with the rest of them.

Mad-Eye, along with about a dozen other Aurors dashed to the rest of the DA members. All around Hogsmead, Aurors were hustling students out of shops and back to the school.

"What happened!?" Cho demanded, as she looked around. "Why did they leave?"

"Because they got what they wanted," Mad-Eye barked at her as he revived Angelina.

"What are you talking about? They didn't get anything," she retorted.

"They took Potter's wife," Mad-Eye replied as he moved to Alicia's side. Remus, Tonks and all of the DA members turned to gape at him then turned their eyes to the crowd of people around them, searching for Ginny.

"Ginny," Fred croaked sinking to his knees with his head in his hands. George simply sat where he had fallen staring blankly into space. He gasped in pain a second later when one of the Aurors set a splint spell on his broken leg.

"How?" Cho breathed. "How could they have possibly taken her?"

"None of you saw it because you were all facing the other way while you tried to defend her back," one of the Aurors said.

"I've never seen anything like it," another one added. "She was covering all of you," he said, his voice full of awe at what he had witnessed.

"It was Snape," Mad-Eye said as he conjured stretchers for Dean and Katie. "He pretended to come to help you. When Ginny turned her back on him, he hit her with something and then took her with a portkey."

Remus and Tonks looked at each other in horror. "Harry," they said together.

"Mum's going to die," George whispered.

"Come on," Moody growled at them. "We need to get you lot to the hospital wing." He levitated Katie and started back towards the school.

Remus Lupin slowly pointed his wand towards the school; a silvery substance shot out of it and raced away. "You two go on ahead, fill in the blanks for the Headmaster," he said to Neville and Cho.

They both snapped their heads up, recovering from their shock as they were addressed and slowly nodded in reply. With two loud pops, they apparated to the gates of the school grounds, and ran the rest of the way to Dumbledore's office.

After they had left, a last Death Eater, hidden under an invisibility cloak, apparated away.

* * *

_**"We have an audience of at least one,"**_ Dumbledore's voice came into Harry, Ron and Hermione's minds just before the door to the hospital wing opened. _**"Draco Malfoy is hiding in the corner just outside the doors under an invisibility cloak."**_

The three of them stood up when Dumbledore and the other professors entered the hospital.

"What happened?" Hermione shrieked, rushing to George when she saw him and the others who had been injured. Harry and Ron quickly moved to their other friends.

"Where's Ginny?" Harry asked suddenly.

"In the hallway, you must let Madam Pomphrey work," Dumbledore replied. The three of them moved into the hall followed by Professors Lupin, Tonks, and Mad-Eye. Professor Lupin put his hand on Harry's shoulder and started to explain what had happened.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY TOOK HER?" Harry thundered.

"She was taken in the attack today, Harry," Dumbledore replied gravely.

"HOW? They didn't manage to get anyone else, and she is a least ten times more powerful than the others combined!" Harry continued to rant.

"It was Professor Snape, Harry," Remus Lupin said. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Dumbledore all snapped their heads in his direction in shock at his words. Professor Lupin simply glared accusingly at Dumbledore.

"He acted like he was going to help them, then he hit her on the back of the head and used a portkey to take her, Harry," Tonks said. Harry Ron and Hermione rounded on Dumbledore.

"I told you he couldn't be trusted, Dumbledore," Mad-Eye growled at him. Dumbledore staggered back and sat down heavily on the bench behind him.

Harry trembled with apparent rage, his face a violent red, an act he couldn't have pulled off without Mark casting the Cruciatus curse at him from behind an invisibility spell. The torches lighting the hallway flickered as Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick, hidden in a small alcove, directed their spells into the hallway. Lending to the effect that Harry was near losing control of his magic. Harry himself let the aura of his power escape his control and a reddish light began to glow around both of his fists as he clenched his hands at his side. The effect of it all, caused Draco to attempt to squeeze further into the corner he was hiding in.

_**"Good,"**_ Dumbledore said in Harry's mind. _**"He's afraid you're about to kill me."**_

"That bastard has been after me since the day I came to this school." Despite his body language, Harry's voice was deathly calm. "I told you any number of times he was after me, but you wouldn't believe me. You always think you're right; it got Sirius killed, because you wouldn't tell me the truth. I'm through listening to you, Albus." Harry stalked off towards the castle doors. Ron and Hermione without a word or glance at Dumbledore followed him.

"Stop!" Dumbledore bellowed clambering to his feet. The three of them stopped and turned around.

"Where do you think you're going?" Dumbledore demanded.

"To find my wife," Harry replied. He turned around and started walking away again. Ron and Hermione followed him a second later.

"Let me help you," Dumbledore called to them.

"We've had enough of your help," Hermione yelled back without turning around. Remus, Tonks and Mad-Eye looked back and forth between Dumbledore and the retreating backs of Ron, Hermione and Harry.

"They must be stopped," Dumbledore said to them. Remus looked at him angrily.

"I'll try, but they are not likely to listen to me," he said and hurried after them, Tonks followed him.

"Alastor?" Dumbledore said.

"I told you not to trust him, Dumbledore," Mad-Eye replied. Dumbledore shook his head.

"What is done is done. I need to go to my office and see what will be lost from this betrayal," he said and walked off.

"I'll come with you," Mad-Eye answered following him.

Draco headed off in the direction that Harry had disappeared in. He rounded a corner and saw both Professor Lupin and Professor Tonks heading out the front doors of the castle. Hurrying to catch up he reached the doors and was heading down the steps when he saw the two professors catch up with Harry, Ron and Hermione.

Stopping where he was, he watched as an argument began. Shouted words, which he couldn't quite make out, reached his ears from across the grounds. A second later he looked on dumbfounded at the fallen bodies of his two professors and the backs of Harry, Ron and Hermione as they walked off into the Forbidden Forest.

* * *

Over time, water dripping down the walls of the dungeon had left them coated with a green slime. Rats scurried along the edges of the room occasionally venturing out into the open as they spied something they thought might be food. The cold in the dungeon chilled Professor Snape to the bone in minutes as he watched and waited.

Even though she never lost consciousness, Ginny wasn't sure how long she had been hanging limply from the shackles that were around her wrists. The chains they were attached to were short enough that if she stood up, her arms would not fall all the way to her sides. And now, as she pretended to be unconscious, those chains stretched Ginny's arms over her head, holding her upper body arched up off of the wet, cold, stones of the dungeon floor.

Ginny knew if it weren't for the relaxation and pain deadening spells she had cast on herself, that her body would be screaming in protest. In fact as she heard the door to the dungeon open and she concentrated her mind on keeping the act up, and registering the number of people who had joined her and Snape in the dungeon, she didn't notice the rats that ran over her legs.

Snape moved from where he had been crouching against the wall to Ginny; making a show of checking the shackles around her wrists. He cast a spell at them that instead of reinforcing the magic around them canceled the spells keeping her comfortable. Almost instantly, Ginny's wrists and shoulders screamed in protest.

"The Master is coming?" Snape asked.

"Wake her already," Bellatrix Lestrange snapped ignoring his question.

"I will wake her when I'm ready, Bella," Snape replied, Ginny recognized the familiar snarl that accompanied his words when he was speaking to someone he did not like or respect.

"Careful, Severus, your usefulness has decreased somewhat in the last few hours, as you can no longer go back to Hogwarts," Bella replied icily.

"And you will help the Master with his potions, Bella?" Ginny didn't see the scowl on Bella's face at Snape's response; instead she felt it in the woman's mind.

"She is a fine prize, is she not?" Lucius Malfoy commented casually from the corner. "Draco will enjoy playing with her, until the Master decides to kill her." It was all Ginny could do not shudder as she reached out and skimmed Lucius's mind and realized he also intended to play with her.

"Yes, she will be fun for him," Bella replied. Snape, Bella, Lucius, and the others looked at their arms in alarm and quickly dropped to the floor before the door to the dungeon they were in opened.

"Rise, Severus," Voldemort said upon entering the room. Snape slowly rose from his knees, keeping his head bowed in deference to his master. "You did well Severus."

"I only wish to serve, Master,"

"And you did. You will be rewarded. She still sleeps I see."

"Yes, Master,"

"Wake her then,"

"Yes, Master. _Enervate!"_Snape called out pointing his wand at Ginny. Ginny started and groaned as she lifted her head from her chest. Her eyes opened and she looked around the room taking in her surroundings.

She slowly raised herself from her knees allowing her arms to come down and blood to flow back into her hands. Ginny shook her head continuing the act of clearing it, a moment later she focused on the shackles binding her. Her lip curled into a sneer and she mumbled an unlocking spell, it didn't work, not that she expected it too, it was the wrong one.

Voldemort watched her curiously; he knew she was aware that there were others in the room. Her eyes had settled on his servants for the briefest of moments, yet she was unconcerened with them, or him it appeared. He moved forward out of the shadow he was standing in.

"Not even concerned that there might be someone here with you?" he asked in a conversational tone. Ginny looked back up to where the voice had come from. Her eyes traveled up and down his body once and then met his. Her face, gave away nothing as she gazed into the red slits of his eyes.  
"Hello, Tom," she replied.

"You have been spending too much time with that old fool that you would dare to use that name," Voldemort replied in an evil hiss.

Ignoring him, Ginny looked down at her wrists again and grimaced; they were raw from chafing against the shackles. She muttered the healing charm she had learned from Hermione and her skin healed over, the pain subsiding a moment later.

"You are powerful, aren't you?" Voldemort commented.

"I new your real name long before I ever heard it from Professor Dumbledore, Tom," Ginny replied, as her eyes searched the room looking for an escape route of some sort. Snape gave away nothing at Ginny's insolence to his master, yet the other Death Eaters shifted eagerly in anticipation of the punishment Voldemort was sure to visit upon her.

"Master?" Bella said from the floor.

"Shut your mouth, wench," Ginny snarled at her. "Can't you see we're talking?" Voldemort started laughing, that someone in chains would dare to call Bellatrix Lestrange a wench, and to cut in front of his reply to his servant; he had more respect for this girl than any of these _slaves_on the floor in front of him.

"Insolent little…" Bella shrieked over her Master's laughter. She was cut off mid reply as Ginny sealed her mouth shut.

"Now where were we, Tom?" Ginny asked. Voldemort stopped laughing instantly and glared at her with his red, snake like eyes.

"You were telling me how you know that name?" he replied. Ginny smiled at Voldemort, a genuine smile that threw him for a second.

"Come now, Tom, you don't remember me? I know I was only eleven and you were only sixteen but the connection is there, is it not?"

Voldemort watched her, while she stood there looking at him without the slightest hint of fear. There was no doubt she would have to die, that much power and no fear, she would be a greater rival than Dumbledore, if she wasn't already. A smile played across his mouth as a magical connection occurred in his mind linking what had happened with his dairy and who he was now.

"Ginevra Molly Weasley, eleven years old and in love with Harry James Potter, finds a diary," Voldemort said to her. Ginny smiled again

"I knew you would remember me, Tom."

"And now you have married him, you see where your love has brought you nothing, but pain."

"Oh, it has brought me more pain than you can possibly imagine, Tom. Even you are not capable of inflicting the pain that my love has brought me."

"Hardly worth it, would you not agree, Ginevra?"

"I would suffer it all again, and more, for one second of his attention," Ginny replied.

"You are a fool," Voldemort snarled at her.

"I certainly was when I loved you," Ginny snarled back.

"SILENCE!" Voldemort screamed.

"Oh please, control yourself, Tom," Ginny answered. Voldemort's body shook and the torches lighting the dungeon dimmed as hatred roiled off of him. Ginny could actually feel it coming off of his body in waves at her. The cold of it, like that of a dementor, and it sent the rats in the room scurrying into their holes in fear. Voldemort cast a releasing spell at Bellatrix, allowing her to speak again.

"Rise my servants," he hissed at them. "Bella, perhaps you would like to punish her for a time?"

"Yes, Master," she replied, her voice heavy with anticipation. Bellatrix Lestrange moved in front of Ginny, her wand in her hand. She reached her other hand to Ginny's chin, digging her nails into her flesh; blood began to flow from the cuts her fingernails made. Bellatrix let it run onto her hand and then licked it from her fingers. "You will pay for your tantrum you little slut," she hissed.

Ginny sneered at her. "Make it good, wench," she replied. Voldemort's servants watched the exchange carefully. The girl showed no fear at what was going to happen, it scared all of them; both Voldemort and Ginny could feel it in their minds.

"By the way, Bella, which one of these _insects_is your husband?" Ginny asked as she casually waved her hand in front of her face healing the cuts that had been made.

Bella's eyes opened wide and there was a murmur of surprise from the Death Eaters surrounding Ginny. It was the third spell she had cast without a wand and each had been more difficult magic than the previous. Bella raised her wand at Ginny and backed away from her a few steps.

"Why do you ask, you little whore?" she asked regaining her bravado. Ginny's mouth twitched into a genuine smile again, while her voice took on a tone of arrogance that she had not yet reached in the exchange so far.

"I have decided to leave one of you alive for Neville Longbottom. Hhe has a right to avenge his parents, wouldn't you agree?" Ginny replied. "So, I have decided to kill your husband the second you drop your spell."

The spell Ginny had used to seal Bella's mouth shut and the two healing spells she had used had put the seed of doubt in her mind. The girl had cast them, while in chains, without a wand, like it was nothing to her, she had only seen magic like that from Voldemort and Dumbledore.

Bella stared at Ginny, her body trembling with anger and fear; anger that a sixteen year old Blood Traitor had such power while she did not, and fear that the girl might be able to carry out her threat.

"I can feel the fear in her mind, Tom. A sixteen year old girl, stands in chains in your dungeon, surrounded by your pitiful servants and they are scared of her threats," Ginny mocked him.

_"Crucio!"_Lucius Malfoy snarled from the side.

Despite the chain around her wrist, Ginny's hand swished in a circle through the air creating a shield which sent the spell back at Lucius, he crashed to the ground screaming in agony for a second from his own spell.

"I don't believe you were given the right to torture me, Lucius," she said to him with smirk. The other Death Eaters stared at Lucius as he climbed to his feet his face red with rage. He raised his wand at her again.

"Please," Ginny remarked, her voice one of utter contempt as she raised her hand towards Lucius. Positioning her fingers like she was about to flick a piece of lint from her shirt she waited. Her challenge to the man who had given her Tom Riddle's diary when she was eleven hanging in the air.

Voldemort watched the exchange; actually enjoying the sparring that was going on in front of him.

"Put your wand down, Lucius," Voldemort hissed quietly at him.

"Yes, Master," he replied, lowering his arm.

"You were going to tell me which one is you husband, Bella?" Ginny said as she dropped her arm and turned back to her. Bella's only reply was her wand hand starting to shake.

"No, well it is no matter," Ginny remarked. "I will figure it out for myself then." And then she looked around the room, her gaze stopping momentarily on each of the figures.

Voldemort watched her curiously, interested to see if she would be able to break into the minds of his servants as she indicated she could. The power required to do so without eye contact was immense. Ginny's gaze settled on Voldemort again.

"Rodolphus Lestrange," she said, "third from your left, Tom." Voldemort's mouth twitched into a thin smile. "Oh-and don't think you can hide from me back there, Peter," Ginny added before turning her eyes on Bellatrix Lestrange again. "I believe you have a phrase for it, how does it go? The Master always knows," she sneered at the woman in front of her.

Bellatrix's body began to tremble even more as her fear and anger multiplied.

"I believe Tom is waiting for you to carry out his orders, Bella. Perhaps you should say goodbye to your husband before you do."

"I'm waiting, Bella," Voldemort said calmly from behind her. "I feel your hesitation; do I have to punish you as I did for your failure at the Ministry two years ago?"

"CRUCIO!" she shrieked, pointing her wand at Ginny.

* * *

Harry, Ron, and Hermione arrived by portkey in Dumbledore's office after walking deep into the Forbidden Forest. Remus, Tonks, Mad-Eye and Mark were already there.

"Is she ok?" Dumbledore asked the second they appeared.

"For the moment, yes," Hermione replied.

"Very well then, Harry, it is time," Dumbledore replied. Harry scowled but picked up the potion vial on Dumbledore's desk. Before drinking it down, he turned to Hermione and Ron.

"Don't let her stay too long. Tell her I love her and that I will see her again. Remus, Tonks, I'm sorry about stunning you," he added. Tonks smirked at him.

"I don't fancy letting you do that to me again anytime soon, Harry," she said.

"Right," he replied. Harry then drank the potion down, lay down on the couch and fell asleep.

"You two are really ok?" Hermione asked. He didn't hold much back."

"We're fine, Hermione," Remus replied. All of them watched Harry as he lay there sleeping for a moment before Dumbledore spoke.

"Move him to my quarters, Remus," he said quietly. "Tonks, you will take the first shift with Hermione and Ronald."

"Yes Headmaster," they both replied.

"Alastor, I need you to bring the Weasleys and the Grangers," Dumbledore said to him.

"Already gone," Mad-Eye replied heading for the door.

"Mark, will you go and ask the Minister to come?"

"On my way," the Unspeakable answered as he followed Mad-Eye out the door.

"Come on you two," Tonks said to Hermione and Ron, leading them to another room off of Dumbledore's study. They no more than entered the room when Hermione's body tensed and her first voice screamed in agony in her mind from the effects of the cruciatus curse.

* * *

Ginny stood in the middle of the dungeon, chains around her wrists, and laughed as Bellatrix Lestrange directed the cruciatus curse at her. After about fifteen seconds she shook her head at her supposed tormentor.

"You should have said goodbye, Bella," Ginny remarked as she raised her hand towards Rodolphus Lestrange. The Death Eaters all began to scramble away from the direction her hand pointed. They had never seen anything like this. Bellatrix was still directing the curse at Ginny, yet she was totally unaffected.

"Do not move, any of you," Voldemort thundered at them.

"Master, please, help me," Bellatrix pleaded with him. Ginny smiled serenely at her.

"He has no mercy, Bella," she said to her. Fear, unlike any Bellatrix Lestrange had ever known surged through her.

"I am not without mercy though," Ginny remarked. Bellatrix felt Ginny's eyes boring into her soul. _"Avada.."_Ginny said quietly. Rodolphus Lestrange's body began to tremble, he started to move, but Voldemort raised his own hand hitting him with a binding spell. A green glow began to build around Ginny's hand. Bella's hand dropped, the spell she was casting at Ginny ended and in a room off of Dumbledore's study, Hermione's body relaxed and her first voice stopped screaming in agony.

"What is your price?" Bella whispered.

"You see what love will do, Tom?" Ginny asked him.

"It was always her weakness. This is nothing I did not know," Voldemort replied.

Ginny smirked at him. "I will collect on the debt you owe me at some other time, Bella," Ginny said without looking at her.

"I think though, that I have had enough fun for today and will be leaving now." There was a blinding flash of white light that spread throughout the room followed by a deafening crash of thunder. Death Eaters were tossed against the walls and fell to the floor in heaps.

_"Reducto!"_Ginny snarled sending a crushing spell towards the spot on the ceiling where the chains that were holding her were anchored. She started to walk to the doorway of the dungeon, only to have Voldemort step in front of her.

"You didn't think it would be that easy, did you?" he said calmly to her. Ginny raised her hand towards the body of Antonin Dolohov.

_"Avada Kadavera!"_the green bolt of light leapt from her hand, killing the man instantly. "Move," Ginny said to him. Voldemort opened the door behind him and then, levitating his servants, he unceremoniously threw them from the room.

"We will wait, patiently, for your husband to come; I will take great pleasure in torturing him in front of you." Voldemort turned to leave the dungeon himself.

"If you think I need to go through that door to leave here you are sadly mistaken," Ginny said to him. Voldemort stopped and turned back to her.

"There is no floo network, nor can you apparate in or out of this room. Despite your ability to perform magic without a wand, it will do you no good to make a portkey as this room is protected from that also. I assure you Ginevra, you have to use this door to exit this room and even you, cannot get past everyone who will be guarding it." Ginny smirked at him again.

"Did you ever wonder how I got to that field on Harry's birthday, Tom?" she asked. Voldemort regarded her curiously for a moment.

"That is an interesting puzzle that has not yet been answered."

"I apparated."

Voldemort watched her, knowing there was more to her reply.

"From Hogwarts, Tom," Ginny finished. Voldemort and Ginny stared at each other, Ginny, knowing the truth of the cards she held, Voldemort, trying to decide if she was bluffing. He started laughing at her.

"That is not possible."

"It is for a phoenix," Ginny replied. Voldemort stopped laughing and looked at her for a second. Ginny backed away from him another step.

"Goodbye, Tom," she said. Voldemort hit her with a reversing spell and the two of them began a battle of wills, fighting back and forth, Ginny, trying to over-power him and transform, Voldemort, not letting her. After more than an hour Ginny stopped and backed further away from him.

"Now what?" she asked. "You have to keep that spell going constantly to stop me from leaving. Even you can't keep me forever, and you know it, Tom."

"I will have my Death Eaters use the spell to keep you here," Voldemort replied. Ginny laughed at him.

"They will be dead as quickly as they come through that door, and you know it."

"Then I will just kill you and be done with it," Voldemort hissed at her, his hand coming up. Instantly there was a flaming phoenix between them.

_Accio Wand!_She snapped, summoning the wand of Antonin Dolohov that was lying on the floor of the dungeon. The wand flew to her hand and she leveled it on Voldemort.

Voldomort hesitated; it had been almost a year since he fought Harry and the others in the cemetery. He knew that Harry had grown stronger during that time. And this girl, he had seen the power of her spells last summer and earlier today. He knew she was at least as powerful as Dumbledore, and to engage her in a full out battle would likely bring half the castle down on the two of them. More likely she would escape.

It took almost no effort to assume your animagus form, while it took tremendous effort to stop someone from doing so. If he were to fight Ginny, he would be so distracted from preventing her from transforming that she would change and be gone. He would have lost his spy for nothing, and he knew some of his followers were already grumbling about the way Harry had escaped him at the cemetery when Cedric was killed, and the Ministry two years ago.

If any of them knew that Harry had left him unconscious on the ground last spring after rescuing the Dursleys, they would be deserting him in droves. Voldemort's greatest power was fear and some of his followers were beginning to fear Harry more than him.

"You won't kill me, Tom," Ginny replied calmly.

"And why not?"

"Because Tom, I know what the prophecy says."

Voldemort looked at her with those red eyes, trying to see into her mind. All he found was a dense white wall that drained energy from him faster than holding the reversing spell on her. Even so, he knew she was telling the truth. Voldemort conjured a chair and sat down in it.

"You have tried my patience far too long, girl. Your death will be a slow, painful, experience."

"If anyone other than the spy comes in here, I will kill them," Ginny replied as she sat down on the floor. "And you know that you cannot stop me while holding that spell. If you do, I will be gone before you can blink."

"You should have just left Ginevra, your need to embarrass me, take vengeance for my diary, has left you trapped and doomed your husband." Ginny's only reply was to scowl at him. Voldemort's lip curled into a smile.

"As foolish now, as you were at eleven, Ginevra." Ginny raised her hands in front of her and the shackles that were still on her wrists fell to the floor. Voldemort's smile disappeared.

"I'm not finished yet, Tom," she answered.


	17. Chapter 17: Stalemate

Please note the world of Harry Potter belongs to JKR. I'm only playing with her creation. Also the story image was a free download I found. Thank you to whomever it belongs. I will remove it immediately if asked.

* * *

Author's note:

As with, A Promise Kept and Harry Potter and the Blood Traitor, this is an older work that I am posting to help tide people over till my new works are ready. If I were to write this now, I would hit it with a pretty heavy editing hand. But I'm not writing it now and will be leaving it as is. Still, while it won't help this story, your comments will help my future work. So I will say it again, reviews are how you pay fanfic authors. I thereby challenge anyone who reads, like it or loath it to leave a review. I will do my best to respond to all signed reviews.

Also, I'm perfectly aware that with the title of the story and a quick google search you can find the whole thing. Certainly I can't stop you from doing so. Just know that I while I have not taken my works down from the old site, I no longer check anything there. If you want an answer to a question, you're going to have to contact me here.

Hope you like it.

Authors' note#2:

I suppose I should have expected this as my old work is going up. It was a very different life and more than five years since I said I was done with fan fiction. Now I'm back writing again. I'm on a new site with a new penname. A simple google search of the titles of my old work will direct you to mugglenet and the penname of huskers. So, I might as well say that yes, I use to post on mugglenet under the penname of huskers. Please read the bio there that directs you to find any new work as well as my old work here under the new penname of Sorcerer's Muse. Yes, I am one in the same. If you have any doubts that I am the same person and that all the work posted here is indeed mine, please go to mugglenet. Look up huskers' page and send an email with an appropriate code word of your choosing. I will then post that code word on my profile here to prove that I am the same person. **Note, I will not post anything vulgar or inappropriate.**

As always, thank you for reading my work.

Sorcerer's Muse

* * *

**Harry Potter and the Unlocked Mind**

**Chapter 17: Stalemate**

* * *

"Please, sit down, all of you," Professor Dumbledore said to the Weasleys, the Grangers and the Minister of Magic, Amelia Bones. They, along with Remus Lupin, Tonks, and Mad-Eye all took seats at the table in Dumbledore's office. Dumbledore looked at the five people who did not know what was happening and took a deep breath.

"What I hope is the final battle with Voldemort began with the attack in Hogsmead today," he started. The Minister regarded him carefully; while the Weasleys and the Grangers looked at each other, concern growing on their faces. "Minister, you have already promised me your cooperation; I am going to need it now."

"You have it, Albus," Amelia Bones replied. "You are aware that along with the attack in Hogsmead, there was a mass breakout from Azkaban?"

"Yes, Amelia. I am," Dumbledore replied. "It was expected, along with the attack in Hogsmead."

"Expected?" the Minister asked. The Grangers and the Weasleys all just stared at him.

"Yes," Dumbledore replied. "Minister, you are aware of the prophecy that Voldemort tried to retrieve from the Department of Mystries almost two years ago now?"

"Yes, but I have no idea what it said." Dumbledore nodded at her.

"That Prophecy, in short, says that the only person who can kill Voldemort, is Harry James Potter." Dumbledore paused to let this sink in on his guests. The Weasleys and Grangers already knew the same information as the DA, now they were getting more.

"There was another prophecy," Dumbledore continued, "that says Harry would have three friends to help him. They are Ronald Weasley, Hermione Weasley," Dumbledore stopped and looked at the Weasleys, "and Ginevra Potter." Mr. Weasley took his wife's hand in his, not liking where this conversation was going. Dumbledore took another deep breath and continued.

"Today, Voldemort believed he had laid a trap to capture and kill one or more of these four students when they visited Hogsmead…. Instead, he has walked into our trap by taking Ginevra as a hostage."

Molly Weasley let out a strangled yelp and was immediately embraced by Mrs. Granger. Mr. Weasley went white while struggling to control himself. Hermione's father moved to place his hand on his friend's shoulder. Seeing how neither of the Weasleys was capable of speech at the moment Mr. Granger spoke for them.

"Perhaps you could explain to us how it is a trap when Ginny is taken, Albus?"

"Voldemort has taken her in hopes that Harry will come rescue her. Harry, Ron, and Hermione have all, as far as Voldemort knows, left the school in an attempt to find her. Ginny is being held in a room that has no floo network connection; portkeys will not work, nor can you apparate in or out of it. Regardless, she can leave at any time and Voldemort knows this. He is being forced to constantly prevent her from taking her animagus form and over time will suffer a drain in his power. We hope, that by weakening him, Harry will be able to fight him, win, and live," Dumbledore replied.

Mrs. Weasley simply sat in horrified shock; letting Hermione's mother hold her, completely unaware that she was even there. Her emotions in such turmoil that even her subconscious was unsure of how to react.

"Ginny is an animagus?" Mr. Weasley finally asked. It seemed an absurd question, given that Voldemort was holding his daughter but it was the only thing that came to his mind.

"Yes," Dumbledore replied.

"I assume that her animagus is her means of escape? How?" the Minister asked.

"Ginny's animagus form is that of the phoenix, she has all of the abilities of the real phoenix in that form, including the ability to apparate out of Hogwarts or the dungeon she is currently being held in."

"A p..phoenix?" the Minister stammered in astonishment. "That's impossible, and surly if she was, I would have been informed when she regist…" she trailed off.

"No," Dumbldedore said catching her question. "Ginny is not registered. Neither are Harry, Hermione or Ronald."

"Why not?" Amelia Bones demanded.

"Because keeping the extent of their abilities from reaching the ears of Voldemort is vital to Harry being able to defeat him."

"You and I are going to need to speak privately, Albus," she replied. Clearly not pleased with how much she had been kept in the dark.

"I trusted you." Dumbledore whipped his head around to face Molly Weasley. "How can you have allowed this to happen?" she continued in a whisper. Dumbledore met her accusatory eyes and steeled himself before he answered.

"Molly, I am sorry. If there were any way I could have prevented this, destroyed Voldemort myself, I would have. But my battle was fought many years ago. This one belongs to Harry, Ronald, Hermione and Ginny. The second prophecy says that Ronald must plan Harry's victory, or Harry must do it himself. I forgot that last spring when Harry's aunt and uncle were taken. I tried to engineer an end to Voldemort at that time. The result of it was the attacks on all of the DA members on Harry's last birthday.

"This is the plan that Ronald has devised. Harry has agreed to it only at Ginny's insistence. Anything anyone had done from the moment Harry agreed to the plan that would alter how the battle between he and Voldemort begins, would have ensured Voldemort's victory."

"Don't give me that. You lied to us, Albus," Molly replied angrily.

"Molly," Arthur said squeezing his wife's in an effort to calm her.

"No, Arthur." She shook him off. "You told us last spring," she said, returning her attention to Dumbledore, "after Harry and the others rescued the Dursleys that you wanted to keep our children here so they would be safe from Vol…" Mrs. Weasley paused, still struggling with her fear at the Dark Lord's name. "Voldemort," she continued. "You didn't keep them here so they would be safe. You wanted to train your weapon," she finished vehemently.

"I won't deny that I kept them here to train them. But don't, for even one second, pretend that you care for them more than I do," Dumbledore replied heatedly. The force of his own words kept Molly in check and allowed him to continue. "The facts are that Harry, Ronald, Hermione and Ginny are now fulfilling what is their destiny. I have done everything in my considerable ability to ensure that your children, my students, survive this fight with Voldemort. All that can be done now is to support them in anyway we can. If they fail, if Harry fails to destroy Voldemort, we are all lost." Everyone fell silent at Dumbledore's words.

"Molly, Arthur," the Minister finally said after a few minutes, "you'll forgive my bluntness, but why does he not just kill her?—"

The Weasleay's and Grangers all flinched at the Minister's question.

"-I have seen Harry's devotion to her and the boy would chase Voldemort to hell if he did. If Voldemort wants Harry, that would be as effective as holding her hostage."

"That, in itself, is reason not to kill her," Dumbledore replied. "Voldemort knows that Harry is his equal and that killing Ginny would likely make him invincible until her death had been avenged. There is however, another reason he will not kill her. Ginny knows the whole prophecy regarding Harry and Voldemort.

"The prophecy, along with saying Harry is the only one who can kill Voldemort, also gives a clue to defeating Harry. Voldemort is aware that Ginny knows the prophecy, and that having only partial knowledge of what it said is the reason for his downfall seventeen years ago when he tried to kill Harry as an infant.

"He does not know what the whole of the prophecy says and is desperate to find out. He is desperate, because each time he fights Harry, he fails to kill him and Harry returns the next time stronger and comes closer to destroying him. Last spring, if Harry had known how to destroy Voldemort, this war would have been over then. Harry does know how to destroy him now and he, Ginny, Ronald and Hermione have taken the war to Voldemort."

"So what is it that you will need from me then, Albus?" the Minister asked.

"We know where Ginny is, along with most of the inner circle of Voldemort's followers. There are also untold numbers of lower level supporters guarding the place. The dementors are there, along with a number of giants. We will be attacking in force within the month. I need you to make sure your Aurors, Unspeakables, and anyone else you plan to send to this battle is ready. _Without_ letting them know anything is going on. I don't need to remind you that Voldemort must have spies in the Ministry. He must not become aware that a major offensive is in the works."

"We can continue to operate as we have been," the Minister replied, "sending out small raiding parties and such. Voldemort will expect me to raid other departments for people to support the Aurors and Unspeakables after the breakout."

"Yes, he will. Make sure as many people as possible know the Phoenix charm, that one spell will save more lives than any other spell in existence," Dumbledore replied. The Weasleys and Grangers had fallen silent for a few moments as they listened to Dumbledore answering the Minister's questions. Now, they seemed to snap out of their trance.

"What do you mean Harry, Ginny, Ronald and Hermione have taken the war to Voldemort?" Mr. Granger interrupted. "Where are our other children, and how do you know where Ginny is?"

Dumbledore turned his attention from the Minister back to Mr. Granger, his wife and the Weasleys before replying. "Harry is in my private quarters, under the influence of a dreamless sleeping draught and will be awakened when Ginny and Ronald have determined the time is right for him to fight Voldemort. Ronald and Hermione are in the next room with Mark, the Unspeakable they have been training with.

"We know where Ginny is because she and Hermione developed a potion, that when taken, allows one mind to be linked with another. Ron and Hermione are attached to Ginny, and for all practical purposes are in the dungeon with her. If Voldemort decides to kill Ginny and the safeguards we have set in place for her, fail to allow her to escape, they will die when she does." Silence was the only response in the room.

"I am sorry," Dumbledore said quietly.

"How is it possible for Ginny to do this?" Amelia Bones asked. "Simply by the form of her animagus I know she is extraordinary. But this is Voldemort she is locked in a room with. Won't he simply overpower her and rip the prophecy from her mind?"

Dumbledore turned and pulled his pensive off of the small table that was behind his chair. He set it on his desk and stood up, preparing to enter it.

"The two most powerful sorcerers in the world are Lord Voldemort, and Harry Potter. Ginny is the third most powerful sorcerer, followed by myself, then Ronald and then Hermione." Dumbledore continued to speak ignoring the looks he was getting from everyone in the room, including Remus, Tonks and Mad-Eye.

"I told you that Ronald and Hermione are attached to Ginny. They are seeing everything that is happening to her in the dungeon through her eyes. This is Ronald's memory of what happened when Voldemort and his Death Eaters first entered the chamber with her. I invite all of you to view it with me. Perhaps, it will give you some idea of how I expect her to survive this."

At first no one moved. But when Molly stood and walked to Dumbledore's desk, everyone, despite the reality of the situation, moved eagerly to join her around the pensive. The need to observe for themselves what had happened, overriding any concerns they might have had about what they would see. A few moments later, Fawkes sat on his perch alone in the office waiting for his master and the others to return from the pensive.

After everyone returned from the pensive, even Remus, Tonks and Mad-Eye sat down heavily in their chairs again. After Harry and the others had become the Keeper's of the Tomes of the Damned, the four of them had not been to the DA meetings. Only Dumbledore and Mark had observed their training. What they had just witnessed in the pensive flabbergasted them.

"Voldemort does not know that Ginny is more powerful than I am, "Dumbledore said as he sat down in his chair again. "It would be good if that information remained a secret."

Minister Bones nodded in reply.

"Is it possible for us to see Ronald and Hermione?" Mrs. Weasley asked in a whisper.

"I would suggest not, they are both suffering greatly as Ginny channels the…. indignities being thrust on her, to them. Seeing you could weaken them," Dumbledore replied in as even a voice as he could. "Your children left these with me for each of you," he added, sliding four small glass vials across his desk to the Weasleys and Grangers. The silvery grey mist of a memory swirled in each of them.

"May we stay in the castle somewhere to be near them in case we can be of some help?" Mr. Weasley asked quietly.

"A flat has been prepared for you. You can travel to it by floo powder from my office, and back to here again. It is imperative that you not leave the flat or my office for any reason. We have gone to great lengths to convince Voldemort that your children have abandoned my help; it would be good if he believed you had also. Your children's pensives have been left in the flat so you may view the memories they left for you."

"Very well, Albus," Mr. Granger replied. He stood up and after pocketing the four glass vials pulled his wife to the fireplace. "Please tell my daughter and son-in-law that we love them." He and his wife along with the Weasley's disappeared a moment later.

"She is really more powerful than you?" the Minister asked after they had left.

"Yes," Dumbledore replied simply.

"And her knowledge of magic how is it possible for a sixteen year old girl to know what she does?"

Dumbledore regarded the Minister for a moment before replying.

* * *

"Severus, you will bring me a vial of veritaserum," Voldemort said to him.

"Yes, Master."

"Please, you think you will get the prophecy out of me that easily?" Ginny remarked before Snape could take a step.

Voldemort glared at her, he had been preventing her from transforming for a day now and her taunts were starting to truly grate on him. Snape had directed the cruciatus curse at her three more times since Bella had the day before and she continued to just laugh at him when Snape did.

He had called in Goyle, intending to have Snape direct the curse at him just to see if he was faking it, but the second the door had opened, Ginny had cast the killing curse towards it.

Goyle had managed to duck back behind the door, but Voldemort knew she had missed on purpose. If she had truly wanted to hit the man, then she would have let him enter the room and not given him an escape route. It had been a warning that Voldemort knew she would not repeat.

Voldemort did not need to constantly put all of his power into the reversing spell, but whenever she tested him, he had to respond instantly to prevent her from changing. It infuriated him to no end that she was dictating the terms of her imprisonment. Yet he knew if he diverted his attention from the reversing spell to defend his servants, she would likely be able to muster enough power to transform. Once she did, there would be no stopping her from leaving.

"You think I would not protect the information from something as simple as veritaserum? I take the antidote to it daily, and I have thirty days before it wears off," Ginny sneered at him.

"You seem unconcerened that you might be here that long," Voldemort hissed at her. "Where is your _precious_ husband now? He showed up in hours to rescue those Muggles who raised him, yet he has not even attempted to find you."

"And how would you know if he has attempted to find me?"

"Because he has not attempted to invade my mind you foolish girl," Voldemort replied laughing at her. Ginny simply stared at him. Voldemort stopped and watched her for a moment.

"He already knows where you are, doesn't he?" Voldemort asked. His voice had become very dangerous. Ginny didn't respond other than to look at him, her face an unreadable mask.

Voldemort considered this information carefully. It wasn't that he didn't want Harry to find Ginny. He had just expected Harry to have to get the information by invading his mind. That Harry knew where Ginny was and Voldemort did not know how he had obtained the information concerned him.

"How did he find you?" Voldemort demanded.

"Why should I tell you?" Ginny retorted.

Voldemort began to slowly try and pry into Ginny's mind only to find the wall of her defense waiting to repel him. Ginny simply smiled at him.

"It won't do you any good to try and move me to another location," she said, correctly guessing what Voldemort was considering. "There is nowhere on this earth, that he will not be able to feel where I am. Besides that, the only way I'm leaving this dungeon is dead or unconscious. And I dare you to try and put me in either state," she goaded him as she tried to transform. Voldemort caught her again. But the effort of it had served her purpose. Reminding him once again that to attack her would allow her to escape.

"Severus, you will instruct the others that our location is known and to expect an attack," Voldemort hissed.

"Yes, Master. Master, do you have a timeframe for the attack?"

"What do you think, Severus?"

"Yes, Master," Snape replied, bowing before leaving the room. Ginny watched him go and then went to the toilet.

"Do you even have the decency to turn around?" she asked.

"No," Voldemort replied.

* * *

There were three beds in the room, each with privacy curtains around them. A large dining table with chairs for up to ten people, a small writing desk sat on one wall under the window. A door on the opposite wall led to a private bathroom. The sunlight streaming into the room was in direct contrast to the gloomy mood of its occupants.

Ron sat on the largest of the three beds leaning against the wall. Hermione was asleep with her head in his lap. And for the moment, the privacy curtains had been moved away from the bed. Tonks paced back and forth in the room while Remus Lupin watched from one of the chairs at the dining table.

It was Ron's turn to be awake and he was sitting with Hermione while she slept, quietly running his fingers through her hair. She had suffered an hour of the cruciatus curse while Ron rested. Voldemort was losing patience and was having Snape send the curse at Ginny more often as the week wore on. It was the only spell Ginny wouldn't counter when Voldemort instructed him to punish her.

The fact that she simply sat there, impassively absorbing the curse with no effect, infuriated Voldemort more than the fact that she would block the other spells. He was starting to try and invade her mind at times now. The effort of keeping him out was begining to take a toll on Ron and Hermione.

Hermione and Ginny had created the mind-linking potion near the beginning of the time they had started training with Harry in legilimency and occulmency. The time last summer when Harry had shown Hermione the memory of her raising her wand at Ron when Voldemort had him under the imperius curse, Harry had thought he was fighting just Hermione. In truth Ginny had been bolstering her defense. The potion did not allow her to help Hermione attack Harry, so she had not seen the memory he showed her, but she had been well aware of the mess Hermione became after that.

Voldemort believed the effort of keeping him out was not allowing Ginny to transform. In truth, like when they had done it with Harry, it took almost nothing for Ginny to direct Voldemort to Ron or Hermione. She could transform easily if she chose to when he tried to attack her in her mind. And the drain on his power when he did so was much greater than when he was only keeping a weak hold on the reversing spell.

"She hasn't eaten in a week," Ron said quietly.

"That was expected," Remus Lupin replied. "Hence the potions she took before hand."

"He suspects nothing yet. It is possible to go for three or more weeks without food," Tonks said as she sat down next to her brother-in-law and put her arm around his shoulder.

"She's drinking out of the toilet," Ron answered.

"She has to drink, he would suspect something after more than three or four days if she did not pass out from not drinking," Tonks answered him.

"She has been sending cleaning spells at it beforehand," Remus offered.

"I know. It's just the thought," Ron replied. Holding his head in his hands, he sighed in frustration. Tonks moved behind him and started to rub his shoulders for him.

"Thanks," he mumbled. A few minutes later he tensed again. "Here it comes," he said and his body began to tremble from the effects of the cruciatus curse.

* * *

Hidden under his invisibility cloak, Draco Malfoy moved quietly down the path to the gates of the school. He had been summoned and he knew better than not to go. Moving to his left as he exited the grounds, he walked to the woods and waited at the appropriate tree. It wasn't long before his arm burned again.

"I'm here," he called out quietly as he pulled the invisibility cloak off.

"We can see that now, dear nephew," Bellatrix Lestrange cooed at him as she wrapped him in a hug. Draco tried not to shudder, he new she would as soon slit his throat as hug him.

"Father," Draco said, turning to him. His father merely nodded in reply.

"You wanted something?" Draco asked.

"We want to know where Potter is, Draco," his aunt replied.

"I don't know. He, Weasley, and the Mudblood disappeared from the grounds the day of the Hogsmead attack three weeks ago."

"You have heard nothing from any of their friends?" Lucius asked.

"No, father."

"And you believe that they have abandoned Dumbledore?"

"I watched the exchange of words when Potter found out his wife was gone and Professor Snape had been the one to take her. Potter looked like he was going to kill Dumbledore. The other two followed him without a glance back when Dumbledore asked to help find her. Potter even stunned the werewolf and the metamorphagus when they tried to stop him."

Lucius and Bella looked at each other, concern on their faces. The news was the same as the last time they had come. Their Master would not like it any more than he had the first time.

"I take it Potter hasn't shown his face to rescue his wife?" Draco asked.

"No, and the Master's temper grows short. She has pushed him and me too far," Bella replied.

"You're lucky that she has occupied him for the last three weeks, Bella," Lucius drawled at her. "If it had not been for that, you would have been punished for your weakness. The Master will not forget that you owe your husband's life to the girl."

"I will never pay that debt," Bellatrix hissed in reply.

"She never expected you would, she only wanted to show the Master how weak you were," Lucius answered.

"She made quite the fool of you too, Lucius," Bellatix retorted. Draco's father turned white with rage.

"At least she did not laugh at me when I cast Cruciatus curse at her."

"No, she only reflected it back at you without a wand, and then laughed at you while you struggled back to your feet, Lucius."

"I think I should head back to the school, father, unless there is something else?" Draco interrupted, noticing that both his aunt and father were sliding their hands into their robes. He wanted to get out of there before either of them drew their wands. They were as likely to kill him as each other.

"No, Draco. There is nothing else, you may go."

"Thank you, father." Draco pulled the invisibility cloak back over his head and turned to go back to the school.

* * *

Albus Dumbledore looked up at the mirror on his desk; the gargoyles that guarded the stairs to his office had started to move, though he could see no one there. Curiosity getting the better of him, he moved to the secret staircase to the hallway below and descended.

A moment later he stepped out from behind the photo, hidden by an invisibility spell and hiding his presence by reversing the proximity detection spell so that he registered as something the size of a mouse and not a full-grown human. He moved to the staircase in front of his office and focused in on the presence he felt in front of him. He quickly sent a silencing charm, followed by the immobilizing charm, and last a stunning spell. He then levitated whomever he had captured back into the secret staircase, taking them down to another secret room under his office.

Draco Malfoy lifted his head and slowly took in his surroundings. He was in a dark, but comfortable room. There were no windows, so he didn't know if it was day or night outside. Each wall of the room had one large fireplace on it with two torches providing light on either side of it. The remainder of each wall was covered with life size portraits of different wizards and witches. All of who were watching him curiously. Draco turned in the comfortable chair he was in to the last wall; looking for a door of some sort to the room.

"The Headmaster does not like people snooping around his office under invisibility cloaks, boy," Mad-Eye growled at him.

Draco started slightly and then glared angrily at him. Getting control of his anger before he answered, he remind himself that this was not the man who had turned him into a ferret his third year.

"I could hardly be seen approaching him for a casual conversation," Draco replied coldly.

"Don't take that tone with me, boy. I've fought your father more than once; you don't seem any more formidable."

"You should be nicer to me, I have something you might want," Draco sneered at him. Mad-Eye looked at him curiously for a second.

"Ok," he remarked, "I'll bite." Malfoy laughed at him.

"I don't think so old man, the only one I'm talking to is Dumbledore, or maybe Potter, if you know where he is."

Mad-Eye gave away nothing in his reaction to Malfoy's challenge. Pulling out a knife, he started cleaning his fingernails. Fixing both his normal and magical eye on the knife, he spoke almost as if Malfoy wasn't there.

"No one knows where Potter is or for that matter either of the Weasleys or their parents. They're all gone, vanished into thin air it would seem. I don't envy Voldemort when Potter finds him though." Malfoy cringed at the Dark Lord's name. Mad-Eye smiled inwardly at Malfoy's involuntary response to the name.

"I can help Dumbledore find her then," Malfoy finally said. Mad-Eye pointed his wand towards the fireplace shooting a silvery substance out of it. They both sat there watching each other warily while they waited for Dumbledore to join them.

"Don't suppose you'll tell me why I should trust you?" Mad-Eye asked conversationally. Malfoy smirked.

"Not likely."

"Right," Mad-Eye answered. The silence fell over the room again as they waited. Malfoy got up and started to pace back and forth, Mad-Eye just watched him, looking for some sign that Malfoy was changing his mind.

"Nice cloak by the way," he commented. "How did you come by it?" Malfoy stopped and looked at him warily.

"My father is very rich." He started pacing again. Mad-Eye just let him go. After about half an hour Malfoy began to lose patience.

"How long is it going to take him?"

Mad-Eye smirked. "He is a very busy man; he can't come running to the son of every Death Eater who offers to help him." Draco glared at the man and started pacing again. It was another ten minutes before Dumbledore entered the room.

That would not really be the truth, as he had been there the whole time. Draco didn't know that and from his point of view, Dumbledore simply appeared. One second there was no one there. The next time he turned in his pacing, Dumbledore was sitting comfortably in a squashy, high backed, armchair in his path, picking at a piece of lint on his robes.

"For the love of…" Draco yelped as he turned.

"Good evening, Mr. Malfoy," Dumbledore said casually to him. Draco looked at him, suddenly more nervous than he had been since his father had brought him before the Dark Lord over the Christmas holiday.

"You are scared," Dumbledore remarked. Draco blinked. "Good, I would be concerned if you were not." Draco didn't say anything. He just stood there not knowing how to respond.

"You have some information for me?" Dumbledore asked calmly. Draco swallowed hard and started pacing again.

"I need protection," he finally said.

"Voldemort is very difficult to protect people from, Draco." Draco felt his skin crawling at the name, and the memory of those blood-red eyes flared in his mind.

"Please, can you call him something else?" he asked. Dumbledore ignored the comment and continued with his previous train of thought.

"He managed with the help of a spy to take a student three weeks ago, who is nearly as powerful as I am. She has not been heard from since. I can offer you little protection from Voldemort." Draco flinched again at the name; he swallowed hard once more before speaking.

"I have reason to believe she is still alive." Dumbledore's face gave away nothing as he surveyed Draco over his half moon glasses.

"I should believe you because?" he asked. "You see, I had a similar conversation years ago with a former Professor," Professor Dumbledore continued, "who just three weeks ago took one of my students and delivered her to the hands of a Master, he swore to me he did not serve anymore. He gave me reason to believe him and I did. You see what that trust has brought me since. You will forgive me, Draco, if I am a little wary of someone who has never given me any reason to trust him." Draco didn't reply.

"May I see your arm, Draco?" Dumbledore asked.

Draco flinched, and his right hand subconsciously moved to his left forearm and rubbed it. Dumbledore and Mad-Eye watched him intently. Draco moved close to Dumbledore and pushed the sleeve of his shirt up revealing the dark mark on his forearm.

"When did this occur?" Dumbledore asked him.

"Over the Christmas holiday," Draco whispered.

"I see," Dumbledore remarked. Draco pulled the sleeve of his shirt down again.

"I was the one who pushed Millicent Bulestrode into starting that petition," Draco said quietly. Dumbledore nodded at him.

"I had no choice," Draco added in a pleading tone, his voice cracking under Dumbledore's gaze.

"Yet you are making a choice now?" Dumbledore asked. "Why should I believe your change of heart is true and that you are not a new spy sent to replace your former head of house?" Draco stood trembling in front of Dumbledore now, barely able to contain the rage that was just below the surface and equally close to breaking down in tears.

"H….He….k..ki..killed….my m…mother," Draco finally managed to choke out. A single tear rolled down his cheek. "When….when…sh.. she tried to stop him from taking me to..to.."

"The Dark Lord," Dumbledore finished for him. Draco's shoulders slumped and he nodded once in reply. "He, being your father?" Draco nodded again, his body seeming to slump even more. Dumbledore sighed.

"I am sorry, Draco." Draco nodded at him again. It was quiet for a long time in the room. Draco stood there in the middle of the floor. His body seemed to almost have become a statue, as Dumbledore and Mad-Eye watched him. Finally he shook his head and straightened his slumped shoulders.

"Ginny offered me friendship once," he said quietly. "No one else ever has. I want to help her, if it's not too late."

"Do you know where she is, Draco?" Dumbledore asked him quietly.

"I think so."

"You will tell Alastor everything you know, Draco," Dumbledore said as he stood up and headed for one of the secret exits from the room.

"Yes, sir," Draco replied. "Thank you, sir, for believing me." Dumbledore stopped and spoke without turning around.

"I said I believe you, Draco. That does not mean I trust you."

"Y…Yes, sir."

"You are not to leave the castle for any reason, Draco. I will know if you do, even with your cloak. If you are summoned, you are to call Fawkes. Find somewhere you will not be observed and call for him."

"Fawkes, sir?"

"Simply say, 'Fawkes, will you come to me?' You will then be able to communicate with me." Draco gulped.

"Yes, sir."

"Do you know why I believe you, Draco?"

"No, sir."

"Because you said you wanted friendship and not revenge, Draco." With that last statement, Draco was left staring at the spot Dumbledore had just left.

"Shall we get started?" Mad-Eye asked after a minute.

* * *

"Do you believe him, Dumbledore?" Mad-Eye asked as he sat down in the chair across from Dumbeldore's desk in his office. Dumbledore sat back in his chair and steepled his fingers in front of him.

"I saw his answers in his mind before he gave them. He is either very skilled at legilimency and occlumency, or he is telling the truth."

"Even about Potter's wife offering him friendship?"

Dumbledore smiled at the question. "In her own, unique way, yes."

"Do you trust him?"

"No. I do not at this time trust him, Alastor,"

"I was hoping it would take a little more than what he gave us," Mad-Eye commented.

"He will have a chance to earn trust during the battle that is to come. He will be kept in the dark until then," Dumbledore replied.

"He is not like one of the members of the DA, Dumbledore. He will have trouble getting out of his own way in a real fight."

Dumbledore frowned at Mad-Eye's observation. "I am sure his father has been teaching him some. It will have to be enough."

Mad-Eye nodded. "How much longer are you going to allow Potter's wife to stay in that dungeon?" he asked, changing the subject. "The other two are starting to look pretty bad, I can't imagine what state she is in," he added. Dumbledore sighed before he stood up and moved into the room where Ron and Hermione were staying. Mad-Eye followed him.


	18. Chapter 18: Checkmate

Please note the world of Harry Potter belongs to JKR. I'm only playing with her creation. Also the story image was a free download I found. Thank you to whomever it belongs. I will remove it immediately if asked.

* * *

Author's note:

As with, A Promise Kept and Harry Potter and the Blood Traitor, this is an older work that I am posting to help tide people over till my new works are ready. If I were to write this now, I would hit it with a pretty heavy editing hand. But I'm not writing it now and will be leaving it as is. Still, while it won't help this story, your comments will help my future work. So I will say it again, reviews are how you pay fanfic authors. I thereby challenge anyone who reads, like it or loath it to leave a review. I will do my best to respond to all signed reviews.

Also, I'm perfectly aware that with the title of the story and a quick google search you can find the whole thing. Certainly I can't stop you from doing so. Just know that I while I have not taken my works down from the old site, I no longer check anything there. If you want an answer to a question, you're going to have to contact me here.

Hope you like it.

Authors' note#2:

I suppose I should have expected this as my old work is going up. It was a very different life and more than five years since I said I was done with fan fiction. Now I'm back writing again. I'm on a new site with a new penname. A simple google search of the titles of my old work will direct you to mugglenet and the penname of huskers. So, I might as well say that yes, I use to post on mugglenet under the penname of huskers. Please read the bio there that directs you to find any new work as well as my old work here under the new penname of Sorcerer's Muse. Yes, I am one in the same. If you have any doubts that I am the same person and that all the work posted here is indeed mine, please go to mugglenet. Look up huskers' page and send an email with an appropriate code word of your choosing. I will then post that code word on my profile here to prove that I am the same person. **Note, I will not post anything vulgar or inappropriate.**

As always, thank you for reading my work.

Sorcerer's Muse

* * *

**Harry Potter and the Unlocked Mind**

**Chapter 18: Checkmate**

* * *

Hermione and Ron wearily lifted their heads as Dumbledore, followed by Mad-Eye, came in the room. The circles under their eyes only just started to tell the story of how weak they really were. Remus and Tonks looked on; the concern evident on their faces.

Voldemort had been spending more and more time trying to break into Ginny's mind. And when he wasn't doing that, he was directing Snape to cast the Cruciatus Curse at her for hours on end; sure that eventually she would weaken enough that it would start to affect her.

Ginny was alternately directing the pain to either Ron or Hermione. And even though Snape was doing his best to fake it, that did not change the fact that it felt like they were being burnt at the stake. In order to lessen the strain on the two of them, Ginny had started fighting Voldemort herself every third time he tried to enter her mind.

"How is she?" Dumbledore asked.

"Fine, for the moment, he is only preventing her from transforming right now," Hermione answered shakily. She had just been released from the Cruciatus Curse after more than two hours; minutes before Dumbledore entered the room. Dumbledore looked at the two of them trying to decide.

"She won't come if we ask, sir," Ron said quietly.

"Headmaster, it is time to bring her back," Professor Tonks interjected.

"Tell me why you feel this way Nymphandora?" Dumbledore replied.

"Because she has not eaten in three weeks. She is too strong for that to be true. Voldemort will begin to suspect something if she stays more than another day or so," Tonks answered. "You also have the fact that Ron and Hermione, while still more than a match for me, are getting weak. If Voldemort gets through, into one of their minds, the game is up. Everything that has been fought for and gained in the last three weeks is gone.

"I agree with her," Remus said quietly from the corner.

"I do too," Mad-Eye added. Dumbledore glanced around the room letting his eyes settle on each of them for a second.

"Everything is in place; you all know what to do?" They all nodded in reply. "Remus, you may go wake Harry and send him on his way."

"Yes, Headmaster," Remus replied and headed for the door.

"Wait!" Hermione shrieked. Remus stopped and turned around. Hermione hurried over to him, reaching behind her head and undoing the clasp of the necklace Harry had given her. Tears streaming down her face, she handed it to him.

"Give this to him. Tell him I expect him to come put it back on for me," she said. "Tell him that both Ron and I love him and that I need him to come back to me." Remus took the necklace from her and hugged her tight.

"He will come back, Hermione," he said before he let her go. Then he was gone.

Dumbledore walked to the desk and picked up an empty ink well. He waved his wand over it creating a portkey which he set on the desk. He then pulled a mirror out of his pocket.

"Minister Bones," he spoke into it. It was a few seconds before there was a reply.

"Yes, Albus?" the Minister's voice came back through the mirror.

"It is time, Minister. Harry is on his way to the chamber; give the signal to your army."

"Very well, Albus. I'll see you in a few minutes," she replied. Dumbledore tucked the mirror back into his pocket.

"I must go and make sure things are ready for the attack on the castle. As soon as Remus returns, you are to tell Ginny that Harry is waiting and every second of delay on her part weakens him. She is to leave the dungeon at her first opportunity. As soon as she returns, Remus is to tap the portkey and join me. You two may come or stay. You have done more than your share. I won't even try to tell Ginny what she can or can't do but even she will not be able to join Harry."

"Yes, Headmaster," they both replied.

"Nymphandora, Alastor," Dumbledore said, holding out a broken quill in his hand to them. Professor Tonks stood, along with Mad-Eye and reached out to touch the quill.

"Good luck you two," Tonks said and then Ron and Hermione were alone. Hermione and Ron sat down on the bed together and held each other tightly.

"He'll come back, Mione," Ron whispered.

"I love you, Ronald Weasley," Hermione answered. "I'm not staying here while my friends fight, Ronald," she added after a moment.

"I know, Mione. Neither am I."

"Hold me, Ronald."

"Always, Hermione." They fell silent and sat holding each other until Remus Lupin returned.

"He's ready," he said quietly.

* * *

Voldemort sat with his eyes closed, contemplating the girl across from him. She confounded him. Her power was immense, and it puzzled him as to why she had not provoked a real fight in order to escape. If he was honest with himself, and he was, he knew it was doubtful he could have kept her here if she had. It seemed however that she was intent on proving her superiority over him in a much more subtle, yet resounding way.

When it first became apparent that neither he nor Snape would be able to punish or torture the girl in any manner that seemed to affect her, he had considered having one of his Death Eaters bring another hostage into the dungeon. He had been intent on seeing how long she would resist when he tortured a child in front of her. And against a weaker sorcerer he would have. But his own ego had stopped him.

Ginny had beaten him once when she was eleven. Thrown his diary away and escaped his clutches on her own. It wasn't until she stole it back, trying to protect Harry that she had ultimately fallen to him. He knew she was convinced she could do it again. That she could escape whenever she chose too.

Once and for all, he would show her what real power was. He would play her game and slowly wear her down. He would take what he wanted from her broken mind. And once he had, Draco and Lucius could _play_with her all they wanted. She would be powerless to stop them. And her husband, weak fool that he was, would be broken when he found her mutilated body.

She was weak now, rarely did she attempt to transform, instead saving her strength to keep him out of her mind. The dark circles under her eyes made it look as if she had been beaten.

Ginny was only sixteen, and petite for her age. She had weighed barely ninety pounds when she had been captured. And now despite the potions she had taken that had sustained her during her captivity, she had wasted away to less than seventy. Her cloths hung on her skeletal like frame, making her appear even worse than she was.

Voldemrot opened his eyes to look at Ginny again. She was sitting there, her own eyes closed, as she leaned her head back against the wall. He knew better than to believe she was sleeping. The slightest movement from him and she would instantly be alert.

His lip curled into a thin evil smile; while he basked in the glow of eminent victory. Unaware, that the other side was about to make its second brilliant play in a row.

_**"Ginny, Dumbledore says it's time. You're to leave at your first chance," **_Hermione said.

_**"I can fight longer, Hermione,"**_Ginny replied.

_**"Harry has already been woken and moved into place, Gin,"**_ Ron said to her. _**"Every second you delay he grows weaker. It is time to leave. You have done everything you can."**_

Ginny cursed silently before replying. She should have expected them to take the decision away from her. _**"I will leave the next time he enters my mind,"**_she finally answered.

And then, without a single hint that she was going to, Ginny tried to transform, Voldemort caught her again.

"You grow weak, Ginevra," he taunted her. "No food for three weeks, nothing but toilet water to drink. Even a witch as powerful as you will fall sooner or later." Ginny glared at him and slowly climbed to her feet, stumbling forward a step or two.

"And yet you still fail to enter my mind, Tom," she snarled in reply.

"Doesn't it bother you that your husband has not come for you yet?" he asked in a perfectly friendly tone.

"He will come soon," Ginny answered easily.

"Your faith is misplaced, girl. I gave up on him long ago. Yet the prospect of the prophecy has kept me from killing you. Give me what I ask and your death will be painless. His death will be painless out of respect for someone who would dare to laugh in my face."

Ginny laughed at him again. "I have not even started to fight yet, Tom," she replied. Voldemort smiled. He hadn't expected her to give in. In fact, he would have been disappointed if she had.

"Defiant to the end. A pity you picked the wrong side," he said quietly. And then Ginny felt him trying to enter her mind. But instead of directing him to Ron or Hermione so she would be able to transform and leave, she fought him herself.

Voldemort waded into what was left of Ginny's occulmency shield. A thin white cloud that teased him with the closeness of her memories and emotions, crack through what was left of it, grab just one of them and she would be finished. He searched, calmly, deliberately for something that would let him enter her mind so he could end this charade. Finally, under the relentless attacks of the last three weeks, there was a break. Voldemort felt it and reached with his mind to take it from her.

Ginny let a memory well from deep within her. She had been working for days to separate it. Make it as pure as she possibly could. Her mind spun with the image of an eleven year old girl writing in her diary. The transparency of the emotion she felt at that moment of her life flooded into her body. Love, for Tom Riddle, and then into Voldemort's.

Voldemort screamed in agony dropping to his knees, clutching his head, and writhing in pain.

"I win, you bastard!" Ginny snarled just before she assumed her animagus.

Snape sprang forward sending spells at her trying to stop her from leaving. His spells either missed or were countered by Dobby, who hit him with a stunning spell, sending him sprawling against the wall.

_"AVADA KADAVERA!"_Voldemort thundered from his knees, as his hand flew at Ginny. As Ginny dissapeared in a flash of light. Peter Pettigrew transformed from a rat and jumped in-between Voldemort, and where Ginny was. That had not been expected. The Death Spell slammed into him, thereby saving Dobby who, in making sure Ginny had escaped safely, had stayed longer than he needed to. He took his second chance and left before Voldemort could attack him again.

"NO!" Voldemort screamed into the chamber. He sent a crushing spell at the dead body of Peter Pettigrew turning it into a bloody pulp; a second later he rounded on Snape who had managed to push himself to his knees after recovering from Dobby's stunning spell, who had held nothing back in hitting him.

"You will breathe none of this. Wormtail attempted to hit me with a spell and that allowed her to escape," he hissed at him.

"Yes, Master," Snape replied.

* * *

"It is good to see you, Ginevra," Remus said, catching her as she stumbled forward after transforming back to her human form. He handed her a potion, which she drank down in one long pull. A few moments later the connections between hers, Ron's and Hermione's minds were ended.

"You should have let me stay longer," Ginny replied, and then she caught sight of Ron and Hermione as they hurried over to her. The three of them broke down in each other's arms as the relief from the stress they had been dealing with washed over them.

"I'm sorry, Ginny," Ron said quietly.

"Don't be, Ronald," Ginny replied, holding him tight to her. "I'm fine and he's weakened. That's what we hoped for." Remus watched them for a few moments and then spoke up.

"Ron, Hermione, if you're coming with me, we need to leave." Ron and Hermione pulled away from Ginny and joined Remus, hands poised over the portkey.

"Are you coming, Gin?" Hermione asked. Ginny shook her head.

"No, I'm going to help Harry."

"You will not be able to reach him, Ginevra," Remus said quietly.

"He will know I'm there," Ginny replied.

"Good luck, Gin," Ron said quietly.

"Be careful, all of you," Ginny answered and then she changed back to her animagus. A moment later she was gone in a flash of light. Ron, Hermione and Remus disappeared a second after her.

* * *

The Wizarding world carried many myths. More so than the non-magic world simply because of the nature of magic and its practitioners to be more secretive than their Muggle counter parts. One of those myths was that Slytherin Castle was in fact, not a myth at all.

It loomed on a rocky isle in the middle of the North Sea, half again as large as Hogwarts itself. On two sides of the castle, sheer cliff walls plunged straight from the massive stones of its foundation into the sea over three hundred feet below. The other two sides were surrounded by dense forest growth that made the Forbidden Forest back at Hogwarts seem cozy and inviting. The forest pressed to within 20 meters of the perimeter walls of the castle; kept from encroaching further by the spells and charms Slytherin himself had used to conceal his mighty fortress.

The soaring towers and turrets of the castle had stood empty and unused since the fall of Salazar Slytherin. The protective spells and concealment charms that had been in place at that time, had kept all but those who knew the location of the castle from finding it. And as those who knew passed into the next life, knowledge of the castle, and the island itself for that matter, had turned from truth to disregarded legend.

At the time of his first falling, Voldemort had counted the myth of the castle as just that, a myth. But as he had moved about the earth in his semi-spirt form, he had heard the whispers from beyond more clearly. The whispers had led Voldemort, the last heir of Slytherin, to what was his. And now, once again, Slytherin Castle was the seat of power for the greatest evil the magical world had ever seen.

Another more accepted myth was the existence of the group that called itself, The Order of the Phoenix. The existence of the group was considered fairly common knowledge. But its membership, that was another matter. The Order of the Phoenix was only slightly less old as an organization, than the school of Hogwarts itself. Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw and Helga Huffelpuff had founded it when they had joined together to fight against Slytherin.

Since the death of Rowena Ravenclaw, the last of the founders of Hogwarts and the Order to pass on, only the current head of the Order had carried its two most closely guarded secrets. Those two secrets had resided with Albus Dumbledore until Ginny had been captured. The first secret, the one where the Order knew of the existence of Slytherin Castle and its location had been revealed to a select few at the time of her capture.

The second secret had been revealed less than fifteen minutes ago. That secret was the unplotable, magically concealed area just inside the woods that were less than forty meters from the front gates. That area now teamed with attacking sorcerers from the Order, Ministry and the DA; all of them safely hidden from the eyes and ears of the Death Eaters they could see patrolling the battlements of the castle.

Three of those attacking sorcerers paced impatiently at the designated portkey arrival area. Lost in their own world, they were unaware of the tensions that surround them. There was a flash and Ron, Hermione and Remus Lupin appeared out of thin air.

"It is done," Remus said before Dumbledore, Molly or Arthur could ask the question. Molly Weasley rushed to envelope Ron and Hermione in her arms, but stopped suddenly.

"Where's.." she asked looking desperately at them.

"She went to Harry, Mum," Ron said before she could finish the question. Molly nearly collapsed on his shoulder with relief at the news that Ginny was safe. Her relief was short lived.

"Molly, you need to return to the hospital wing," Arthur Weasley said. "Now," he urged, pulling her away from Ron and Hermione. "Madam Pomfrey is going to need your help."

Molly turned to her husband and allowed him to activate the portkey to send her back to Hogwarts. Ron and Hermione turned and followed Dumbledore to the front of the lines.

"What's he doing here?" Ron snarled an instant later when he caught sight of Malfoy.

"He is here to help, Ronald," Dumbledore replied calmly. Ron glared at him and Malfoy in turn. "There is no time to argue, Ronald. You will have to take him at his word. Now, since the two of you are here, you will come with me after the initial attack and assist to set the anti-apparation and portkey blocking spells. Ron glared at Malfoy again.

"Fine," he growled.

_**"Betray us, and if Ginny doesn't exact revenge on you, I will, Draco,"**_Hermione said to him.

"You better help the Headmaster, Hermione," Draco replied. Hermione gave him a last look and turned to Dumbledore.

"I'll do what I can," she said.

Dumbledore nodded. Taking a large crystal from his pocket, he levitated it into the clearing in front of the assembled mass of attacking sorcerers. The crystal began to glow faintly and the signal was passed down the lines, all of them raised their wands and directed a Crushing Charm towards the softly glowing crystal. The stone began to glow brighter as the combined magical power of more than five hundred Aurors, Unspeakables, Order members, Ministry employees and DA members was channeled into it.

Dumbledore let the stone continue to absorb the incoming spells until it began to pulse red with the unreleased energy it was holding, and then when it seemed that the stone would surely explode, he threw his arm in the direction of the castle. An instant later the stored energy in the stone exploded in one massive spell slamming into the wall of the tower to the left of the castle gate. Hermione watched in stunned disbelief as the ten foot thick stone wall at the base of the tower was obliterated and the rest of the tower began to crumble, it seemed in slow motion, to the ground.

* * *

Voldemort's head snapped up as a colossal explosion rocked the castle. The force of it was such that the mortar in-between the immense stone blocks of the dungeon started to rain down on him and Snape in the form of small pebbles and dust. Even as he began to move to the door of the dungeon, a second explosion rocked the castle.

Snape trailing in his wake, Voldemort moved into the hallway leading out of the dungeon. They were met by the terrified faces of several junior Death Eaters who, upon seeing their master, fell to their knees.

"Master," one of them spoke. "We're under attack."

Voldemort raised his wand and killed him. "I know that you fool," he snarled. "What are you doing on your knees you idiots!? Defend me!" he bellowed a second later. The Death Eaters scrambled to their feet and began rushing to the stairway out of the dungeons.

"Master," Snape said urgently while reaching out to touch Voldemort. Voldemort stopped and looked at the hand on his arm. Snape dropped to his knees instantly.

"You forget yourself, Severus," he hissed dangerously. "You are lucky I have need of you at the moment."

"Forgive me, Master. I did not wish to offend. I needed you to listen for a moment," Snape replied.

"What is so important that you would risk touching me, Severus," Voldemort asked. Snape reached into his robe and pulled out a wand, which he held out to Voldemort.

"Master, you cannot fight him with your wand." Voldemort looked at the wand in Snape's hand. "I would be honored if you would use mine, Master," Snape said quietly.

"And what will you use, Severus?" Voldemort asked.

"If you will allow it, Master, I would be honored to use yours. If not, I will simply place my body in front of any spell sent at you," Snape replied, with as much anticipation as he could create. Voldemort's wand dropped to the floor in front of Snape.

"You will be rewarded, Severus," he answered, taking the wand from Snape.

With his head bowed in deference to his master, Snape didn't see the look of surprise on Voldemort's face at the tug of a portkey in his belly before he disappeared.

Severus Snape picked up Voldemort's wand and slowly climbed to his feet. As he did, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a vial of polyjuice potion.

"More likely, I will die a horrid death, Master," he said before drinking the potion. He then apparated to the grounds outside the castle, appearing before Dumbledore as Mr. Granger. Most of the people fighting against the Death Eaters believed him a traitor, he couldn't very well show up as himself and not expect to be dead a moment later.

"It is done," he quickly said to Dumbledore before he ran off through the chaos to join the battle.

"Now!" Dumbledore said to Ron and Hermione. They nodded at him and the three of them apparated to the top of the highest tower in the castle. They then began channeling their anti-apparation and portkey blocking spells into the same crystal Dumbledore had used to channel the Crushing Charms moments ago. A spider web of light began to grow out of the crystal forming into a dome over the tower, spreading and growing to encompass the castle and grounds. The dome of crackling red and white light reached the ground and it became impossible for any of the Death Eaters to apparate or portkey away from the castle in an attempt to escape.

Ron and Hermione both collapsed to the roof of the tower, near exhaustion from the time spent helping Ginny to fight Voldemort and the enormous expenditure of energy that was required to set the spells they had just helped Dumbledore with.

"Here," Dumbledore said, handing them each a bottle of Pepperupper potion. "The web will hold for an hour, maybe a few minutes less, I must go and do what I can to help Remus and the others with the giants. Stay together and good luck, to both of you." And then in a whirling of his cape he was gone. Ron pulled Hermione up with him a moment later as the potion took effect.

"Looks like Mark and the rest of the DA have the dementors under control," Hermione said. After spending the last three months preparing for it, all of the DA, who were still in school, minus Neville, stood on the top of the second highest tower with the Unspeakable; directing their spells to a second crystal. They had been charging the crystal for the past three months and now, what should have been fifteen patronuses, was ninety. Their silvery forms could be seen racing around the perimeter of the castle in an ever tightening circle, herding the dementors to a confinement web.

"Let's start over there," Ron said pointing to a courtyard.

Hermione nodded at him. "I love you, Ronald."

"I love you, Mione," he replied and with two pops they apparated away.

* * *

Harry leaned against the wall of the Death Chamber, hidden in the shadows as he waited. Remus had woken him less than ten minutes ago and while he knew Ginny was ok at that moment. He did not know if she had managed to escape Voldemort's hands or not. Harry knew it had to be this way. He had to be in place before Voldemort arrived. That didn't make it any easier. His fingers played with Hermione's necklace around his neck, a small bit of comfort to cover his agony.

_**"Husband."**_

Harry's head snapped up and a smile came across his face. _**"You're alright, Gin?"**_he asked nervously.

_**"I told you I would come to you,"**_Ginny replied.

_**"I love you, Ginevra Potter."**_

_**"I'm waiting for you, Husband."**_

Harry felt a prickling coming from his scar. _**"I think he's coming, Gin."**_

_**"I love you Harry James Potter. Fight with that knowledge in your heart."**_

_**"I will return to you, Gin,"**_Harry replied.

_**"I know, Harry."**_And then, though she left his mind, the power of her love swelled in his heart and all fear left his body.

Harry focused on closing his mind as tightly as he could. It was only a moment later that Voldemort arrived at the top of the stairs. His momentum from traveling by portkey carried him tumbling down the steps to the floor of the Death Chamber towards the crumbling stone arch. Harry couldn't help smiling, as he watched the Dark Lord fall.

_Nice touch,_Harry's first commented.

_No wonder the twins were so eager to donate one of their fake wands,_his second added.

_I wonder who they found to test the arrival point of that thing?_the third asked.

Voldemort slowly pushed himself to his knees, raising his head to take in his surroundings. His eyes stopped for a moment on the arch. Taking his time, he deliberately climbed to his feet and absently brushed at his robes as he searched the rest of the room. Harry stepped forward and briefly let a tiny crack open in the conduit that connected the two of them. Voldemort spun to face him.

"You," he hissed.

"Who did you expect, Dumbledore?" Harry replied casually. Voldemort stared at him. "You are now the rat in my trap, Voldemort. Not a comfortable feeling is it?" Harry taunted him.

Voldemort's hand shot towards Harry. The spell he tried to send from the wand Snape had tricked him into taking reversed and he was thrown against the wall of the chamber.

It wasn't the spell, or the wand exploding in his hand, tearing it off, that caused him to scream in agony, it was his body coming into contact with the wall of the chamber. Voldemort rolled away from the wall, scrambling to his feet as he did.

"Already, you're not thinking clearly to have attempted to use the wand that was used to bring you to me," Harry remarked quietly. He had moved back into the shadows again, hidden by the invisibility spell and turning the proximity detection spell inward. His presence, to Voldemort, felt like that of a rat and the chamber was filled with them. Voldemort tried to track in on his voice.

"You must be getting weak from a loss of blood, Voldemort," Harry commented from his left. "You're near immortal, yet even you will collapse from the loss of it." This time Harry's voice came from Voldemort's right. Harry watched in satisfaction as a silver hand formed over the stump that remained of Voldemort's right hand.

"I'll bet that took a lot out of you, didn't it? You see, Voldemort, every spell we cast, every bit of magic we perform in this chamber comes entirely from within us. That hand, the material to make it came from somewhere else in your body. Conjure a sandwich, you're eating your own flesh; water is your own blood.

"Have you figured it out yet?" Harry asked. A binding spell erupting from the wand Ginny had given him. Voldemort blocked the spell, sending ropes of hissing snakes back at the source, Harry waved his wand and the snakes disappeared in wisps of white smoke.

"SHOW YOURSELF!" Voldemort thundered.

"Why?" Every time Harry spoke, it was from a different location in the chamber. The stunning spell erupted from his wand slamming into Voldemort, who despite the shield he erected, was thrown to the ground.

"You have never fought fair, why should I?" Harry asked.

Voldemort had climbed to his feet again; and was starting to be able to separate out which of the rats he felt in the room, was Harry. He whirled and sent his own stunning spell at Harry. Harry's wand waved in a circle and the spell reflected back at Voldemort, who was forced to deflect it with his own shield. The spell ricocheted to the wall and was absorbed without so much as scratching the stone. Voldemort stared at the wall in amazement. Harry dropped the two spells he was using to hide with. They took more energy to maintain than the one Voldemort had used to locate him. There was no sense in wasting energy

"Interesting, isn't it?" he asked. He was actually curious himself about the nature of the prison he was in. Harry raised his wand at the wall and a moment later he bellowed, _"Avada Kadavera!"_The spell flew to the wall and spread along it, encompassing the room in an ethereal green glow before fading. "Curious, that I can touch it and you can't," Harry remarked reaching out and placing his hand on the wall when Voldemort's focus returned to him. "Do you like my new wand by the way? My wife made it for me, from one of her tail feathers. I think it actually increases my power."

"Your wife is dead," Voldemort shrieked at him.

Harry snorted. "Hardly, as I just spoke with her seconds before you arrived here." Voldemort's silence was returned by Harry's knowing smile.

"You see, Voldemort, the next line in the prophecy says, 'And the Dark Lord will mark him as equal,' so, we tricked you into taking her." Voldemort's blood-red eyes darted around the chamber. Harry continued.

"You have spent the last three weeks fighting her, and two other, very powerful sorcerers, while I have been sleeping. You are weak, while I am strong. Dumbledore has spent years developing the spells for this prison, and months casting them, preparing this chamber. There is no way in or out for either of us. Eventually, you might figure something out, but it will take you months, by which time you will be too weak to actually perform the magic necessary to break his spells."

"You really think I can't leave here?" Voldemort asked condescendingly.

"Even my wife can't get in or out of here," Harry replied. "But by all means, go ahead and waste your energy trying, it will only make it easier for me to destroy you."

"I cannot die," Voldemort replied simply.

"We both know that's not true."

Voldemort simply stared at Harry, a flicker of fear in his blood red eyes.

"Yes, I know," Harry said.

The fear in Voldemort's eyes changed from fear to anger and hatred in a instant. "We shall see, then, won't we Potter."

"Yes, we will," Harry answered, letting the conduit open between them.

* * *

Cho and Neville moved together along the stone wall searching out Death Eaters. Hearing noise behind them they stopped and waited for whoever it was to come into sight. Sounds of battles around the castle grounds echoed off of the walls of the courtyard they were in. The cries of agony from the injured fell on the deaf ears of two who had been in battle before and seen the devastation it caused. There was no time for the wounded right now, only for hunting and there were three in particular they were after.

Cho raised her wand as she felt the person moving around the corner of the wall and coming into sight. She relaxed and dropped her wand when she saw the blue glow emanating from whoever it was that came around the corner. Everyone involved in the attack had taken two potions; one, that caused the glow, another, that allowed you to see it, the creation of Hogwart's Potions Master for just this occasion.

"Over here," she whispered loudly to the figure. The person, on seeing them, quickly rushed in to join them in their hideout.

"Professor Chang, Mr. Longbottom," the man remarked upon sitting down with his back against the wall, breathing heavily. Cho and Neville looked at him curiously.

"Do we know you?" Cho asked. Mr. Granger smiled at them.

"You do not recognize your former Potions Master?" Snape replied calmly.

"Professor Snape?" Neville asked incredulously.

"Considering only about fifteen people know I am not a traitor, I can hardly show up as myself, can I?"

Cho and Neville shook their heads and chuckled slightly.

"Any idea where the Lestranges or Pettigrew might be?" Cho asked.

"Listen for the most insane laughter," Snape replied. "That will be Bella; her husband will be close by. As for Pettigrew, he is dead." Cho's mouth twitched into a half smile.

"I know you wanted him for yourself, Cho," Snape remarked.

"He is dead, that is enough, Severus." Snape nodded at her.

"I think I will join you on your hunt, if you don't mind?" Snape asked. Neville opened his mouth to protest. "I will only step in if you have problems, Mr. Longbottom. They are too dangerous to let go, if you and Cho fail. They must be killed or captured tonight if at all possible."

"Let him come, Neville," Cho said quietly while reaching out to touch his face. "We were assigned them because we would be relentless, not so we could exact revenge."

"Fine," Neville said and he turned, leading the way around the wall to the next courtyard. As they reached the end of it, the insane laughter of Bellatrix Lestrange came to the ears of Professor Snape.

"Looks like you'll get your chance, Longbottom," he remarked, as he pulled Cho and Neville flat against the wall.

* * *

Ron and Hermione stood back to back in an open courtyard on the other side of the castle grounds. Spells flew around them as they tried to fend off the group of Death Eaters they had come across. The two of them had decided to start from the back of the grounds and try to work their way to the front of the castle.

The Chess Master, having played brilliantly to this point, had made a colossal error. They were surrounded by more than forty Death Eaters almost immediately upon entering the courtyard. And while it might have been a pitched battle against them at the height of their powers, they were in grave danger in their weakened state.

If they could have, they would have apparated out of the courtyard to somewhere else on the grounds, but the Death Eaters had trapped them in a smaller web similar to the one they had helped Dumbledore with at the start of the battle.  
The only way out of the courtyard was to fight their way out.

"Use the Death Spell!" Ron bellowed at Hermione.

"Ronald!"

"Mione, this is war! The Minister auth…." Ron's response was cut short; he had been hit by six spells at once. It was too much for his shield to take and he fell to the ground, unconscious, at Hermione's feet.

Hermione didn't pause in her fighting; only stepping over the body of her fallen husband so she could protect him from getting hit again. The Death Spell began to rain from her wand and the Death Eaters who had been closing in on them were forced back again. Hermione looked desperately for somewhere she could take cover. Seeing nothing she could get to, her eyes fell on the stone benches around the perimeter of the courtyard.

Hermione began summoning them to her; turning them on their side she formed them into a wall around her and Ron. It wasn't much, but it allowed her some protection as she continued sending the Death Spell in random directions. It was enough to keep the Death Eaters at bay, for the moment. Pausing in her attempts to defend herself, Hermione took a second, to send a reviving spell at Ron and then turn back to the Death Eaters.

Ron groaned when Hermione's spell hit him. He was awake but not really. Hermione tried kicking him with her foot to get him to wake up. Ron groaned again and his head rolled to the other side.

_**"RONALD! GET UP!"**_Hermione screamed in his mind.

Ron groaned, his head rolling from side to side. Something in his mind knew he had to wake up, but he couldn't do it. His eyelids fluttered open and closed a number of times. If Hermione had had time to look down at him, all she would have seen were the whites of his eyes rolled back in his head. Hermione chanced the time for another reviving spell.

"WHA…" Ron moaned again. A Crushing Charm hit one of the benches sending stones and debris flying over the two of them. The bench split in two and Hermione was forced to repair it; placing it back in position. She sent the Death Spell in the direction the Crushing Charm had come from and was rewarded when a figure stuck its head around the corner right into the path of the spell. Hermione kicked Ron again.

"Wha…why kick me, Mio," Ron mumbled.

_**"RONALD! GET UP!"**_Hermione screamed in his mind again

"Mione?..." Ron groaned his eyelids fluttering open again.

"GET UP! RONALD!" Hermione screamed at him. Ron slowly rolled over, moaning with pain as he did.

"RONALD! I NEED HELP!"

Hermione's voice finally started to register in Ron's mind. He managed to take in his surroundings and realized his wand was in his hand; the sounds of the battle going on around him flooded into his brain. He staggered to his feet knocking into the stacked benches around him and Hermione, nearly falling down again.

"JUST STAY DOWN!" Hermione yelled at him. "HOLD THE BENCHES TOGETHER FOR ME!" Ron sank to his knees again shaking his head desperately to clear it.

"RONALD!"

"I got it!" he managed to get out, taking over control of holding the benches in place, while Hermione continued to send the Death Spell at the Death Eaters surrounding them.

With the Phoenix Charm arrayed in a circle around the benches, it was enough to hold them at bay. They could not defend themselves from the Death Spell, and every time one of them ventured out, Hermione either killed them or just missed them with her spell.

* * *

Dumbledore apparated from the tower where he had set the containment dome with Ron and Hermione into the vast courtyard that the main gates of the outer castle walls opened onto. He cringed for half a second at the broken remains of one giant lying with his body half submerged in a fountain.

His eyes were ripped from that gruesome sight when he saw Arthur Weasley fly through the air and crash into the statue of Salazar Slytherin that stood in the center of the fountain. The giant who had struck him advanced on his fallen form only to be engaged by Hagrid and Grawp.

"DAD!" Bill Weasley shouted rushing from behind the stone wall where he had been sending spells at the giants. The spells of more that fifty sorcerers tried to cover him from the swinging arms of the other giants. He had nearly reached his father when one Giant broke through the wave of spells and his hand slammed down onto the back of Bill's head, crushing his skull and killing him instantly.

"NO!" Remus shouted as both he and Tonks physically restrained Percy and Charlie from rushing into the open also.

Taking a lesson from Ginny Potter, Dumbledore let his anger mount. His power began to flow, building to a crescendo he had not reached since defeating Grindelwald.

The Crushing Spell erupted from his wand striking the giant advancing on Bill, square in the face. The giant's brains exploded from the back of its head and its dead body tittered precariously towards the statue and Arthur's crumpled form at its base. Dumbledore just managed to summon Arthur to him before the Giant fell onto the statue with a deafening crash.

Behind Dumbledore, an explosion of non-magical making went off at the feet of another giant. The beast screamed in agony as both of its legs were blown off, sending it crashing to the ground.

Fred and George stood up from behind the wall they were using for shelter. Together they levitated the third and last bomb they had made from their fireworks supply, sending it into the open and near a giant whose back was turned to them. A bolt of fire shot from the wand of Professor McGonagal to the bomb. The explosion, larger than the last one, tore into the giant killing it instantly.

The giant fighting both Hagrid and Grawp was joined by three others, and Hagrid was sent flying through the air into the wall of the castle. His body struck it with such force that a Death Eather standing on top of it was knocked off balance. The Death Eater fell, bouncing off of Hagrid's motionless form on his way to the ground.

Grawp's howl of rage at the sight of Hagrid's motionless body precipitated and attack of such ferocity that the four giant's he was now battling seemed to loose confidence.

Dumbledore's own rage threatened to consume him as his most loyal and dedicated friend lay motionless on the ground. The spells that flew from his wand slammed into the four giants that were now falling back under Grawp's attack; a few moments later only one was left standing.

He turned to flee in the direction of the wall where Fred, George and Professor McGonagall were hiding. As the three of them began to run from behind the wall, Professor McGonagall was hit by a stray spell and fell with a broken leg. The onrushing giant was struck in the back by more than thirty Crushing Spells and began to fall towards her. Fred and George stopped and turned to rush back to Professor McGonagall in an attempt to keep the Giant from crushing her.

_"Petrificus Totalus!"_ Professor McGonagall's spell hit them when they were only feet away. The Giant's body crashed down onto her. The head of the creature only inches from the twins frozen forms. They could only watch in horror as Dumbledore levitated the giant off of Professor McGonagall. A moment later he released the twins from the spell she had cast on them.

"Quickly," he said. "Take her and the others who are injured outside of the containment dome. Use your portkeys and take them to the hospital wing."

Fred and George nodded and levitating her body, moved through the gates of the castle towards the staging area for the attack. Dumbledore headed back into the castle.

Listening quietly for a moment, he turned to towards the sounds of the most vicious battle coming to his ears. Moments later, the Death Eaters understood the power available to a man who could kill a giant by himself with one spell.

* * *

Neville peered around the corner. He could see that Bellatrix and her husband had managed to disarm a couple of people that he did not recognize. He only knew they were on his side because of the blue glow coming from their crumpled bodies. They were both writhing in agony under the effects of the Cruciatus Curse.

Neville and Cho stepped out from behind the corner each sending binding spells at the two Death Eaters. Bellatrix caught the movement out of the corner of her eye and dove out of the way of the spell sent at her. As she rolled to her feet, she directed a releasing spell at her husband and then her own stunning spell at Cho. Cho's wand waved in a circle creating a shield which sent the spell back at Bellatrix. Hit by her own spell, Bellatrix was thrown into the fountain behind her.

Neville advanced on Rodolphus Lestrange in a slow steady march as the two of them battled back and forth, spells flying furiously through the air, neither getting the upper hand.

Snape took the opportunity to pull the two crumpled forms to him. Neither of them did anything but groan when his reviving spells hit them. Snape frowned. The battle was not very old for their minds to have split. Yet he knew if anyone could inflict enough pain to have driven them to that point in so short of a time, it was Bellatrix. Snape directed a stabilizing spell at the two victims and activated the timed portkey that would take them to St. Mungoe's once the containment dome collapsed. He then turned his attention back to the battle in front of him; the wounded would have to wait. These two, now that he had found them, must be captured at all costs. If Longbottom and Cho were not up to the task he had to be ready to step in.

Bellatrix came up from the fountain, infuriated; profanity flowing from her mouth in a manner Cho did not know was possible. Bellatrix's power was nearly half that of Hermione's and the spells that came at Cho drove her back for a moment.

Cho had stood up to spells from Harry over the course of the last year. She couldn't do it for long but she had grown powerful herself. Motivated by the death of her father, Bridgette, the other DA members killed that past summer and her own time spent suffering the effects of the Cruciatus Curse, she fought back. She had lost Cedric, her first love, to Voldemort in this war and she would be dammed to hell if she would fall to this woman or lose Neville.

Neville started to gain an advantage against Rodolphus Lestrange and was forced to cast the phoenix charm as the man sent the death curse at him. Rodolphus was forced back into a wall as the spells from Neville began to overwhelm him. It was his own binding spell that Neville reflected back at him that finished him. A moment later he was hit by Neville's stunning spell and his wand was ripped from his hand by a summoning charm. Neville turned to watch as Cho and Bellatrix battled back and forth.

Bellatrix was growing desperate, aware that her husband was out of the fight and pushed to her limit by this girl, her own spells coming back at her from the shield Cho would erect, the death spell useless against her. And then it happened. Her shield spell failed under the force of Cho's stunning spell. Her wand was ripped from her hand and she was bound in anti-aperation coils a moment later.

Neville levitated the unconscious form of Rodolphus Lestrange next to his snarling wife and joined Cho as she stood over her.

"You will both suffer for this when my master comes for me," she spat at them. Snape joined them a moment later and sent a reviving spell at Roldolphus Lestrange.

"I doubt that, Bella," Snape sneered at her. She looked at him, her anger lost in curiosity for a moment, the voice she knew, but not the face.

Polyjuice potion, Bella," Snape remarked, "only a few people know that I truly fight for Dumbledore. Most think I am the traitor who brought Potter's wife to your Master. The disguise keeps them from killing me on sight."

"You are a dead man, Severus," Bella hissed at him. Snape ignored her.

"Longbottom, I never thought I would say this, but I'm impressed," Snape said to him. Neville merely nodded at him.

"Judgement has been passed on these two already, Longbottom. You can kill them where they have fallen with a clear conscience," Snape said. Neville looked at the two Death Eaters, who only glared back at him.

"No, Professor. I will not kill them, they can go back to Azkaban or be sent through the veil, whatever the Ministry decides." Bellatrix started laughing insanely at the three of them.

"I will escape and hunt you down, boy. You will join your parents in St. Mungo's before I am finished with you," she screeched at him. Snape looked at Cho and Neville and then turned to Bellatrix and Rodolphus Lestrange.

"I'm afraid not, Bella," he replied raising his wand at her. "I have fewer morals than Longbottom or Professor Chang, the price I pay for having associated with you, for far too long. For the first time since falling to Cho, Bellatrix's eyes showed fear.

"I'll see you in hell," Snape said and the Death Curse leapt from his wand, twice, killing both Bellatrix and Rodolphus Lestrange. He turned and his eyes met those of Cho and Neville the three of them looked at each other for a moment before anyone spoke.

"Let's go see if anyone else needs help," Cho said quietly, before turning to lead the way to the next courtyard.

* * *

The pain surged in Harry's scar as the connection between he and Voldemort opened. The battle of wills that had ended in a draw almost a year ago resumed. All of the love Harry felt for his family and friends flooded into Voldemort's body, driving the Dark Lord to his knees screaming in agony. The bolt of red light streaming from Harry was met by the green bolt from Voldemort as he fought back.

Despite how much Voldemort had been weakened by fighting against Ginny, Ron and Hermione for the last three weeks. The pain that Harry felt from Voldemort's hatred surged into him, stronger and more powerful than last year. Harry staggered back, focusing on directing the pain to his fourth voice. The red and green bolt of light streaming between Harry and Voldemort stabilized for time; wavering slightly towards Voldemort and then back to towards Harry. It stopped again, then, almost imperceptibly, the red beam from Harry began to steadily eat away at the green light streaming from Voldemort.

Voldemort, knowing he couldn't run this time, that for at least one of them this would be the end, managed to climb to his feet. Fighting as desperately as Harry, he lashed out with his hand sending a flaming blue serpent at his enemy. Harry flicked his wand and the Phoenix Charm flew from it. The bird streaked at the striking serpent catching it in its talons and carrying it away from Harry. The two flaming forms crashed into the wall of the chamber and a purple light flared around the room as the flames spread and then dissipated.

Harry's wand flicked again, wrapping Voldemort in a cocoon of molten red light. When Voldemort had sent the serpent at him, the effort of countering the spell had caused the green beam of light streaming from Voldemort to surge towards Harry. Now, wrapped in the cocoon of Harry's new attack, the red light from Harry surged towards Voldemort, regaining the ground he had lost and a little more. Voldemort struggled to throw off the new attack, finally causing the cocoon to uncoil around him, falling to the floor at his feet. He threw his hand towards Harry and the glowing red coils flew towards him. Harry caught them in the sweep of his wand, ducking under them and allowing them to carry past him to the wall where they instantly turned to ash.

Harry renewed his attack into Voldemort's mind, harsher than before. More personal memories flowing from him: filling his mind and heart with feelings of love. The image of Ginny standing in front of him the night he gave her the diamond earrings.

"How about, because I want it?" The memory of Ginny's words to him, flooded into Harry's mind. The felling, of utter devotion, resonating in his heart at that moment in time drove into Voldemort, throwing him back against the wall of the chamber.

Harry was only aware of Voldemort's screams of agony in a detached way as the red light from him surged to the form that was struggling to its knees in front of him now. The pain in his own mind became harder to ignore as he forced his way deeper into Voldemort's mind, threatening to spill over his ability to direct it to his fourth voice.

* * *

Draco Malfoy moved, silently and unseen under his invisibility cloak, along the edge of the path. Having been in the castle most of the Christmas holiday, he had made a point of learning the layout as best he could. He had been in the dungeon once; and only hoped he could remember how to get there again, and that when he did, he would not be too late. What he was going to do once he got there, he had no idea.

The sounds of a fierce battle came to his ears from around the next bend. As he peered around the corner he could see the backs of at least eight Death Eaters and the fallen bodies of a least a half dozen more. He looked up at a smaller dome of webbed light spread over the courtyard and grimaced. Apparently these followers of the Dark Lord had decided if they could not escape, they would take some of their attackers with them.

He crept forward, trying to see whom they were fighting, contemplating what to do. He couldn't take them all. The best thing to do would be to find the witch or wizard casting the web and allow the people they had trapped a chance to leave.

Draco stepped into the stairwell and quickly moved up to the walkway that surrounded the courtyard. Looking down, he was stunned to see what appeared to be one person surrounded by a makeshift shelter of stone benches, holding off close to twenty Death Eaters arrayed around him in a circle. The fallen forms of over two dozen Death Eaters lay strewn about courtyard. He watched, as despite the spells raining down on the benches they held together, and the person inside sent the green bolt of light that was the Death Curse randomly in a circle. The Death Eaters would occasionally attempt to send the death curse back but each time, it was met by one of the flaming birds that formed a defensive ring around the stacked benches.

_It actually works,_ Draco thought to himself. They had been teaching it all year in Defense Against the Dark Arts at school. Few students had managed it and they had not actually seen it performed against the Death Curse. Draco focused back in on the person trying to defend themselves. He couldn't see where the containment web was coming from. But up here, he could get off a number of spells before the Death Eaters knew what hit them.

Hermione was in trouble; she and Ron had both over estimated themselves after taking the Pepperupper Potion. And now, even though Ron was no longer unconscious, he could barley hold the benches together. Hermione was having to help him with it. Her concentration was starting to fail. She was having trouble maintaining the Phoenix Charm around them, and she could feel every spell she sent, draining her further.

She looked desperately around the courtyard; just catching sight of a glowing blue form watching from above. A second later the Death Spell erupted from the person's wand, once, twice, a second blue form appeared next to the first and joined it in attacking the Death Eaters surrounding her and Ron. Hope swelled in her heart, adrenaline surged through her body, renewing her strength momentarily.

The first indication that the Death Eaters had of someone behind them was Malfoy's third spell slamming into the stone wall to the left of its intended target. His aim was destroyed from the surprise of the person who joined him in attacking the Death Eaters.

"Hit what you're aiming at, boy," Mad-Eye growled at him. Malfoy stared at him, stunned to see him there. Mad-Eye didn't look at him as he continued to send spells at the Death Eaters below him.

"Fight boy, they're in trouble down there. We need to clear an escape route for them."

Malfoy focused back in on the scene below him. Mad-Eye had either killed or stunned three more of the Death Eaters who stood between the person barricaded behind the stone benches and a path to safety. There were still four Death Eaters blocking a way out of the courtyard for whoever was trapped down there.

The Death Eaters spun and started to move for cover from the two people attacking them from above. They were somewhat trapped; if they moved to the other side of their stone wall, they would open themselves to Hermione's spells.

"Can you get up yet?" Hermione yelled at Ron. Ron staggered to his feet next to her.

"Yeah," he gasped leaning heavily on her with his arm draped over her shoulder for support. She staggered slightly under his weight. Her eyes widened when she saw the pink frothy spittle at the corners of his mouth.

_We have to get him out of here!_ the voices screamed in a panic in her head.

"What do you think we're doing?" Hermione snapped at them.

"What?" Ron wheezed.

"Nothing, get ready to run, we have help from over there," Hermione indicated with her head while sending another Death Curse at one of the Death Eaters who was still blocking their way out of the courtyard and had moved too far around the side of his hiding spot.

"She got another one," Mad-Eye remarked as the Death Eater fell.

"She?" Draco asked as he took aim at one of the three Death Eaters still blocking the escape route.

"Look's like Ron can at least stand," Mad-Eye said. "Good. Means I won't have to go in and get him."

"Is that Weasley?"

"Both of them," Mad-Eye replied as another Death Eater fell. He and Draco were being forced down now as the Death Eaters on the far side of the courtyard started sending spells at them. Mad-Eye ducked down, and then popped back up sending the Death Spell at one of the two Death Eaters still blocking Ron and Hermione's escape route, missing him to his right. Mad-Eye ducked down and watched through the stone floor with his magical eye as the two Death Eaters turned tail and ran, clearing the path for Ron and Hermione.

"We have to cover them now boy, no ducking out of the way until they make the arch below us."

Malfoy nodded at him.

"On three we cover them, when I tell you, go for the stairs and pull them up here with us," Mad-Eye said to him.

Draco nodded again. "Ok."

"Three!" Mad-Eye bellowed as he jumped up and sent the Death Curse at the Death Eaters hidden on the far side of the court yard.

"COME ON WEASLEY," he thundered. "WE AINT GOT ALL DAY!"

Malfoy jumped up and added his own spells to Mad-Eye's.

Hermione watched the last two Death Eaters run from where they were hiding and then she heard the voice of Mad-Eye bellowing at her to run.

"Ready?" she asked Ron, he nodded at her. "On three send a spell behind us and let's go."

Ron pointed his wand back over his shoulder. "Two," he said, tensing his body as he prepared to try and run.

"THREE!" Hermione yelled and they bolted from the shelter of the falling benches. Ron could barely make his legs work and Hermione nearly fell as she dragged his staggering form along with her.

"Now!" Mad-Eye barked at Draco.

Draco darted for the stairs and reached the bottom just as Ron and Hermione got to them. He stepped in front of Hermione; she and Ron crashed into him and fell to the ground. Ron screamed out as his ribs protested the abuse being heaped on them.

"THIS WAY!" Draco shouted pointing up the stairway. He and Hermione grabbed Ron and looped his arms over their shoulders; causing him to scream out again as the two of them dragged him up the stairs. Mad-Eye met them at the top.

"Is there somewhere we can hide, Malfoy?" he growled, shoving Hermione out of the way and taking her place in supporting Ron.

"Through here," Malfoy replied dragging them down a corridor. He stopped and hit the wall with his wand; a panel slid to the side and allowed them access to a small room. They ducked into it; dumped Ron to the floor and he hit the wall with his wand again. The door panel slid closed and locked.

"Move!" Hermione demanded pointing her wand at the lock.

Malfoy jumped out of the way of her spell.

"Recognition!" she snarled. Mad-Eye and Malfoy looked at her. "They might find us, but they won't be able to unlock the door," she snapped at them.

"Nice to see you too," Mad-Eye growled back at her.

Ron had tried to get to his feet after Mad-Eye and Malfoy had dumped him upon entering the room and now sank to his hands and knees. He was overcome with a fit of coughing, hacking up blood and phlegm from his lungs. Hermione sank down and pulled him to her and he leaned weakly up against her. Mad-Eye squatted down in front of them. Ron managed to focus on Mad-Eye and reached his hand out clapping it on his shoulder.

"Thanks," he gasped. And then he turned to Malfoy who eyed him warily. Ron put his hand out. "I suppose I owe you my life and my wife's," he said quietly.

Malfoy took Ron's hand in his. "Consider it paid, your sister saved mine," he replied.

"Remind me to thank her. If I ever see her again," Ron said quietly. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall. Hermione stood up after watching this exchange. And now she stepped forward and hugged Malfoy. His response was similar to what Ron would have done three years ago if she had hugged him.

"Thank you, Draco," she said. Before letting him go and moving back to Ron.

"Erm…yeah," he replied. Draco suddenly remembered he was trying to get to Ginny when he found Ron and Hermione. "We need to go. I know where they're keeping Ginny," he said urgently. Hermione looked at him quizzically.

"Relax, Malfoy," Mad-Eye replied sitting down on the floor. Draco looked at him in disbelief. "She escaped just before we started the attack." Malfoy's mouth dropped open. "Dumbledore didn't trust you. So he sent you after her, with me as a tail. We figured either way we came out ahead. You would do as you were told and try to reach her or you would lead me to a nest of Voldemort's biggest followers. Either way, we would find out if you were trustworthy." Malfoy's eyes blinked. "Besides that, Ron is in no shape to go anywhere."

"She escaped?" Malfoy asked in disbelief. "How?" Mad-Eye grunted at him.

"Just because I trust you doesn't mean I'll tell you everything." Malfoy continued to stare at him. "You saw the mess these two made of those Death Eaters before you found them?" Mad-Eye asked him.

"Yes," Malfoy replied cautiously.

"Let's just say that Potter's wife would not have needed our help," Mad-Eye commented. "Frankly," he added, "if these two had not just spent three weeks helping her fight the Dark Lord, they probably would not have needed help either. You two look like hell by the way."

Ron opened one eye and looked at Mad-Eye. "You're one to talk," he quipped, his voice heavy with pain. Malfoy just stared at them opened mouthed. Mad-Eye looked at his watch.

"Only about five minutes left, any chance you know how to apparate Malfoy?" he asked.

"I've been working at it," Malfoy replied hesitantly.

"Yes or no, Malfoy," Mad-Eye growled.

"Yes."

"Are you two up to it?"

There was no response from Ron as his eyes rolled back in his head, a raspy gurgle accompanying each breath he took in. Hermione started moving her wand over him trying to find what was wrong.

"Guess not, we'll use our portkeys," Mad-Eye said. He waved his wand over himself, Ron, Hermione and Malfoy, activating the timed protkeys that hung on a chain from each of their necks. "Let's get him to the hospital," he added as he started helping Hermione try to determine what had happened to Ron.

Draco watched, surprised at his own anxiousness and cursing himself for not knowing anything that could help.

Just before she felt the tug of a portkey in her tummy, Hermione was able to determine the spell that Ron had been hit with. Her eyes filled with tears and her cry of anguish went unheard as she traveled through the abyss to the hospital wing at Hogwarts.

* * *

Harry had forced his red beam of light to within inches of the Dark Lord. And now, he reeled with the hatred he encountered in the mind of Voldemort. The pain he was feeling seemed almost to be beyond his ability to register anymore. If he could have spared the energy to think about it he would have wondered if it was possible to kill one of the voices and if you did, what it would do to you.

Harry focused his mind on the last night he and Ginny had spent together, before she went willingly to be captured by Voldemort. The emotion of finally sharing himself with her welled within him and the red beam of light forced its way down and touched Voldemort.

When it did, the battle changed. The pain being sent at him became less focused, but now he was forced to deal with the images of Voldemort's crimes. Harry cringed under the onslaught of visions of people being tortured.

Sensing his revulsion, Voldemort started consciously thinking of the most heinous acts he had committed. An infant being skinned alive in front of its hysterical parents flew into Harry's vision. He recoiled from the inhumanity of the crime and Voldemort was able to throw him out of his mind.

Harry staggered back and as he recovered himself, he looked up to see Voldemort changing shapes, assuming his Animagus form. He retched violently as the toxic breath of the deadly nundu filled the chamber. The giant, panther like, creature, nearly twice the size of Ron's lion form, began to charge at Harry even as he himself began to change shape.

Harry was nearly transformed when the nundu's jaws clamped around the throat of the dragon. The thick scales on the dragon's neck prevented the nundu from ripping its throat out. The dragon shook its massive body and threw the nundu from around its neck across the chamber. The dragon's head followed the flight of the giant cat and a tongue of flame leapt from its throat. The cat, twisting in the air, landed on its feet and bolted away from the raging inferno that followed it around the chamber.

The noxious fumes of the nundu's breath filled the chamber and the air itself ignited as the dragon continued to spew fire from its throat. The inferno raged, filling the room, enveloping both creatures in flames. The stench of burnt hair and flesh filled the chamber as the nundu's body began to burn and its screeches of agony echoed off of the chamber walls.

The dragon, protected by its hide from the heat of the flames whirled its tail and caught the nundu with its spikes, impaling the creature on them. The dragon's tail whipped again, and the nundu was tossed into the walls of the chamber shrieking with pain. The nundu crashed to the floor of the chamber; its body so badly damaged that it could not move out of the way of the tongue of flame the dragon directed at it.

As the dragon paused to breath in, the nundu slowly changed back to its human form. Burnt flesh hanging off of Voldemort's body fell to the floor leaving the white bone of his right forearm completely exposed. The dragon instantly became Harry.

Back in his human form, Harry's assault against the Dark Lord's mind was renewed. The bolt of red light leapt from him, slammed into Voldemort, pinning him against the wall of the chamber.

The pain of the renewed contact with Voldemort's mind flooded into Harry, driving him to his knees. But this time as Voldemort tried to force the images of his crimes into Harry's mind, Harry blocked them. Once again, feelings of his emotions from his last night with Ginny flowed across the connection. Harry continued to feed his emotions into Voldemort, forcing his way deeper into Voldemort's mind. And as he did, he could hear the voices of Voldemort's different selves.

_No!_ one of them screamed, _get him out!_

Tom Riddle had started down the path of Lord Voldemort very young. His voices had started speaking to him when he was less than three years old. And they had wanted to hurt things. Tom had listened to them willingly. And at their urging his crimes had become more violent. By the time he had left for Hogwarts, he was torturing small animals to death, and inflicting whatever pain he could get away with on the other children at the orphanage.

_He will destroy us!_ another voice bellowed in agony at the foreign feelings coming to it from Harry.

Tom Riddle's arrival at Hogwarts had brought a change in him. He had become subtle, controlling, without calling attention to himself. And he was brilliant. The voices found a way for true revenge on the people who had hurt them.

Tom Riddle was more than willing to drink the potion that gave the voices control of his body. He was only too happy to open the Chamber of Secrets and set the Basalisk on the school. Moaning Myrtle had been the first person he had killed and he had reveled in the power he felt from her death.

Creating the diary that Ginny had been given by Lucius Malfoy, was his first attempt at immortality. It had nearly worked. What the voices had not counted on when the diary was created, was the girl who found it.

The diary had manipulated Ginny like it was intended too. But the concept of Ginny truly falling in love with Tom Riddle had not been counted on. Nor was the effect her love would have on the part of Tom Riddle's soul that had been left in the diary.

Voldemort was alive and in control of Tom at that point. Tom wanted it that way. It made him powerful, strong, and feared. It was good to be feared. People respected you if they feared you. But Ginny's love had touched something in Tom that was not yet, Voldemort. And Tom Riddle had tried to fight back; tried to take control of his soul again. Those were the flashes that existed in Ginny's memories of being possessed.

Ultimately, once she became aware of what Voldemort was doing to her, Ginny's love had turned to hatred. Hatred of Tom Riddle that had caused him to stop trying to fight back and instead, when she came into possession of the diary the second time, his desire to destroy her was even greater.

_Help me, Harry!_ Tom Riddle gasped.

_NO! YOU WILL DESTROY US!_ a third voice thundered.

Harry forced a memory across the connection between himself and Voldemort. An image, from the point of view of an infant in its mother's arms. A memory that Mark had found in the room with the locked door and released into one of the storage boxes. He had brought it to Harry just before he went to sleep three weeks ago.

An infant will always know the love of its mother. Even Tom Riddle, who was held only once by her, it was the one time in his life he had given love to someone else.

_ARRRGGGHHH!_ the voices screamed. Fleeing from the pain of the emotion that now welled from within Voldemort himself; as Tom Riddle fought to the surface of his own mind and asserted control over the voices for the first time since he had drank the potion that had given them control.

There was a flash of green light yet oddly no crash of thunder to go with it; and the life in the death of all of the people Voldemort had killed was released into the room. It hung there, as a softly glowing mist, and began to filter towards the stone arch; slowly being sucked away.

Harry had fallen to his knees when the red light from his body had reached Voldemort. And now as the pain from his connection to the Dark Lord subsided, he struggled to his feet and stood over Voldemort who was was slowly pushing himself to his knees.

Still connected with the Dark Lord, Harry continued to force the image of Tom Riddle in his mother's arms into Voldemort's mind, holding the voices at bay. Voldemort raised his head to look at Harry. Harry's face twitched at the burnt husk of body in front of him, but forced himself to seek out Voldemort's eyes. And though they were still red and snake like, the insanity was no longer there.

_**"Harry?"**_ a voice whispered in his mind.

_**"Tom,"**_ Harry replied.

_**"I tried, Harry. Once I gave them control, even the one time I wanted to, I couldn't stop them."**_

_**"I know, Tom,"**_ Harry answered as he raised his wand at Tom Riddle.

_**"Tell the phoenix, I am sorry."**_

Harry nodded his head.

_**"You will only have a second to exit my mind once you cast the curse."**_

_**"Goodbye, Tom Riddle."**_

_"AVADA KADAVERA!"_ Harry thundered as he desperately pulled away from Tom Riddle's mind. Harry felt Voldemort's voices rushing back in to take control. Desperately trying to pull back the magic that would protect their soul, if not their body from the death curse. As Harry fell to the ground, his magic exhausted, he watched the green bolt of light strike Tom Riddle's body, saw it crumple to the ground. There was a rush of air that blasted past him and the veil on the stone arch fluttered.

The glowing mist in the chamber began to rush to the veil, threatening to carry Harry with it. With the last of his strength, he lunged frantically for a bench and held onto it. The force of the air reached a climax and Harry's grip began to weaken; his fingers slipped and he was being dragged across the floor to the arch. He clawed desperately at the floor of the chamber trying to prevent himself from being pulled through the veil. Finally the force of the air began to dissipate and it was no longer enough to drag him towards the arch. Harry didn't even have a second to let out a breath of relief when a blast of light erupted from Tom Riddle's body. The wave of light slammed into Harry, tossing him away from the veil. His unconscious body was thrown into the wall, and slid down it to the floor in a broken heap.


	19. Chapter 19: Recovery

Please note the world of Harry Potter belongs to JKR. I'm only playing with her creation. Also the story image was a free download I found. Thank you to whomever it belongs. I will remove it immediately if asked.

* * *

Author's note:

As with, A Promise Kept and Harry Potter and the Blood Traitor, this is an older work that I am posting to help tide people over till my new works are ready. If I were to write this now, I would hit it with a pretty heavy editing hand. But I'm not writing it now and will be leaving it as is. Still, while it won't help this story, your comments will help my future work. So I will say it again, reviews are how you pay fanfic authors. I thereby challenge anyone who reads, like it or loath it to leave a review. I will do my best to respond to all signed reviews.

Also, I'm perfectly aware that with the title of the story and a quick google search you can find the whole thing. Certainly I can't stop you from doing so. Just know that I while I have not taken my works down from the old site, I no longer check anything there. If you want an answer to a question, you're going to have to contact me here.

Hope you like it.

Authors' note#2:

I suppose I should have expected this as my old work is going up. It was a very different life and more than five years since I said I was done with fan fiction. Now I'm back writing again. I'm on a new site with a new penname. A simple google search of the titles of my old work will direct you to mugglenet and the penname of huskers. So, I might as well say that yes, I use to post on mugglenet under the penname of huskers. Please read the bio there that directs you to find any new work as well as my old work here under the new penname of Sorcerer's Muse. Yes, I am one in the same. If you have any doubts that I am the same person and that all the work posted here is indeed mine, please go to mugglenet. Look up huskers' page and send an email with an appropriate code word of your choosing. I will then post that code word on my profile here to prove that I am the same person. **Note, I will not post anything vulgar or inappropriate.**

As always, thank you for reading my work.

Sorcerer's Muse

* * *

**Harry Potter and the Unlocked Mind**

**Chapter 19: Recovery  
**

* * *

Ron woke up in the hospital wing of Hogwarts after his second night under the influence of the dreamless sleep draught to find Hermione sleeping in the chair next to his bed. He smiled to himself as he watched her for a few minutes, while trying to remember what exactly had happened in the battle against Voldemort's followers.

He was able to recall that he had been hit, and vaguely remembered being surrounded by some sort of stone barriers. He remembered running from that shelter and up a flight of stairs where two people helped him to a closet of some sort, and for some unknown reason he thought he remembered thanking Draco Malfoy for saving his and Hermione's life.

Hermione stirred and her eyes opened a moment later, she smiled to see him awake and looking better than yesterday. He was going to be here another day or so, but he would make a full recovery.

"Hi," she said to him, reaching out to take his hand.

"How long have you been here?" Ron asked her.

"All night."

"You could have joined me you know." Hermione blushed at the invitation. "Why exactly am I here anyways?" Ron asked. "I remember getting hit, and running up some stairs to a closet or something."

Hermione frowned. "What's the last thing you remember?"

"Things are really fuzzy. I remember two people helped us.

I think it was Mad-Eye and… Malfoy?" Ron's last statement was more of a question.

"You thanked them both for saving our lives."

Ron blinked. "So Malfoy really saved us?"

"Yes, he and Mad-Eye rescued us." Ron rolled onto his back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. "He was in yesterday with Mad-Eye to see how you were doing," Hermione added.

Ron squeezed her hand, and they sat quietly for a while.  
"Malfoy on our side, that is going to take a bit to get used to," he finally remarked.

"Yes, it will," Hermione replied.

"I assume we used our portkeys to get back here, what happened after that?" Ron asked.

"Well you passed out before the portkey activated. One of the spells you were hit with was the same one used on me in the Ministry two years ago."

Ron turned back to Hermione. "Shouldn't I be dead?"

Hermione reached out and turned his hand over; tracing her finger on the three white scars on his palm. "Yes," she replied quietly. "The healers said you had a lot of damage, that you even woke up at the battle in the first place was a miracle. They didn't even try to explain how you managed to run to the closet; even with me, Mad-Eye and Draco dragging you."

Ron closed his eyes and sighed. Hermione moved up and sat on the bed next to him, running her hand across his forehead to brush the hair out of his eyes. "Where is Harry?" he finally asked.

"We think he is still in the Death Chamber, Ronald," she whispered as the tears started to flow again.

"And Voldemort?"

"About four hours after you were brought here, the Dark Mark disappeared from Draco and Professor Snape's arms," Hermione replied.

Ron opened his eyes to look at her. "So he's gone?" he asked.

"We don't know. The mark still exists on the arms of the Death Eaters that were captured in the battle," she answered. Ron looked at her quizzically. "Dumbledore hopes it's a sign that he's gone, that the mark of evil only remains on the arms of those who were truly his followers." Ron nodded.

"Where is Ginny?" he asked quietly.

"She is at the Ministry."

"Have you seen her?"

"No, Dumbledore is the only one who has gone to her. She doesn't want to know anything until they figure out what happened to Harry."

"If Dumbledore thinks Voldemort is gone, why don't they just open the chamber?"

"Because if he's not, if the Dark Mark disappearing from the arms of some of his followers is a trick, then he will be able to escape. Dumbledore feels that Voldemort, if he is alive, is still trapped in the chamber. Without food or water, even if he can't die, he only has a month or two to figure out a way out of the prison Dumbledore created before he will grow too weak to escape. Harry knew this before he went in the chamber, we all did, Ronald."

Ron fought back the tears in his eyes, he knew Hermione was right, it had all been part of his plan; even so, he had hoped for a different answer.

"Dumbledore and the Minister are considering releasing the spell that keeps Fawkes and Ginny out," Hermione whispered.

* * *

Ginny stood up and walked to the door leading to the Death Chamber. She placed her hands on it and leaned her forehead up against it. Trying to feel something through the spells Dumbledore had cast around the chamber. She could feel nothing to indicate the presence of her husband behind the door. She hadn't expected that this time would be any different than the others. Ginny knew, despite always being able to feel when Harry was near her, that unless she tried to reach him through his mind, the spells would block anything she did.

Dumbledore had spent years developing the spells and containment webs that now had turned the Death Chamber into a prison. It was to have been his last resort for stopping Voldemort should Harry fail to destroy him. Dumbledore didn't believe for a second that Voldemort wouldn't eventually figure a way out of the chamber. But he knew that despite only Harry being able to destroy him, Voldemort still suffered the most basic of human needs. The need to sleep, eat and drink. If it took him too long to figure a way out of the chamber, he would be too weak to perform the magic necessary to escape.

None of Voldemort's followers had the power or knowledge necessary to open the chamber for him. And if he remained trapped long enough, perhaps if Harry failed, another might be born with the power to destroy him. It was a desperate attempt but desperate men will do desperate things.

"Ginevra."

Ginny turned around to see Professor Dumbledore sitting on the bench behind her. She smiled weakly at him. "He is not dead, Professor," she said to him.

"I assume you refer to Harry?" he replied.

"Yes."

Dumbledore surveyed her over his half moon glasses. What he saw was a woman clinging to the only truth that could keep her alive. Ginny was still emaciated from the time spent in the dungeon with Voldemort. The black circles under her eyes had deepened. And her face had become almost hallow in appearance. Her worry over Harry, had not allowed her to sleep for more than a few minutes at a time. Causing her physical and magical reserves to fall to the point where she was in danger of collapsing entirely.

"I believe you, Ginevra," he said quietly to her. "Have you tried to reach him in his mind?"

Ginny shook her head. "I didn't want to distract him if they were still fighting,"

"I see," he answered. "Perhaps it is time to try," he added quietly a moment later.

Ginny bit her lip and nodded slightly at him.

Harry's crumpled body lay on the floor of the chamber, alive but only just. His mind barely remembering to breathe and his heart was only just beating. The blast from Voldemort's fallen body had been the final shock of pain, death and hatred too hit Harry. And it was as powerful as the blast that radiated from Harry last summer when Dumbledore had brought Ginny to him in the cemetery. Voldemort had taken close to twelve hours to wake up from that and Harry was in a much worse state than Voldemort was when he was hit.

"Husband?" a voice came into his mind. Something fired in Harry's mind at the feel of Ginny connecting with him. It was all the indication she needed that he was truly still alive.

"He is alive, barley," Ginny said.

Dumbledore frowned, trying to decide what to do. The calmness of Ginny's voice could not hide her desperation from him. He knew her only concern was for Harry, but he was well aware that having the eternity symbol at your wedding was not all blessing. He knew that if he allowed Harry to remain unattended in the chamber and die that Ginny would die within days of him. Still he could not allow his feelings for two to override the fate of the world.

Privately, he raged at his own fate. How many times had he been placed in this position? How many times would he be forced to sacrifice one or two for the fate of many? And he wondered, when he finally passed through the veil himself, what those he had sacrificed in the past would say to him.

In the end, it was Draco Malfoy who made the decision for him. Dumbledore did not see how Voldemort could possibly know that Draco had left his servitude and turned to fight on the side of good. If the fading of the Dark Mark from Draco's arm was a trick, then Voldemort had likely left the chamber already. Dumbledore reached into his pocket and handed Ginny a small glass sphere.

"I will allow you in and reset the spell once you disappear from my sight. The sphere will allow me to see what is in the chamber."

Ginny nodded at him and gathered what little strength she had left before she assumed her animagus. Taking the sphere from Dumbledore in her talons, she waited.

Dumbledore waved his wand in the air and nodded to her. "Go."

Ginny disappeared in a flash of light and Dumbledore's wand waved again; trapping her in the chamber.

With a second flash of light, Ginny apparated into the Death Chamber. She transformed from her animagus back to her human form and gasped with the effort it required.

_How did he fight in here?_her voices wondered in awe. In her weakened state, the spells that made the death chamber a prison and forced all magic to come from within the person who used it; were instantly noticeable to her.

She shook her head slightly to clear it and then looked around the chamber searching for Harry. She found two crumpled forms on the floor; one near the stone arch and the other lying against the wall of the chamber. She walked unsteadily to the first form, dropped the sphere on the ground, and then went to Harry's side.

Ginny slowly settled to the floor beside Harry and reached to take his hand in hers. She wasn't aware of it but at her touch, his breathing became stronger and his heart beat more steadily. She held his hand for a moment before she began to move her wand up and down his body; searching him to determine the extent of his injuries.

The blast that had thrown Harry against the wall had broken his right arm. And when his body had fallen to the floor after being thrown against the wall, he had landed on his face. Breaking his jaw and cutting a deep laceration into his right check.

Harry had not fully assumed his animagus when the nundu had clamed its jaws around his neck. The hide of the dragon had stopped the nundu from ripping out his throat, but the pressure of the nundu's jaws had crushed his left collar bone; and left his entire chest one massive purple and black bruise that stretched around to his back. He also had a number of broken ribs and they had punctured one of his lungs.

Ginny had been given the knowledge of the Keepers of, The Tomes of the Damned. One of them had been the greatest healer of her time. Now, she reached deep into her heart for the strength to heal Harry's wounds. In her effort to save him, the spells of the prison forced her to sacrifice the last of her magical reserves, with her last stabilizing charm barely forming.

After casting her last spell, her wand fell to the floor and she rolled Harry onto his back, placing his head in her lap. Having done everything she could, her fingers gently stroked through his messy black hair. They would either die together now, or Dumbledore would release his spells and let both of them out of the chamber.

She didn't know how long it was that she waited. Only that she woke in the hospital wing of Hogwart's and when she rolled over, Harry was in the next bed. The two of them were in a cordoned off corner of the wing and it was just getting light out. Ginny climbed out of her bed and walked over to Harry's climbing in next to him. When she woke again it was dark.

* * *

"Oy, Potter, wake up," a male voice said. Harry stirred slightly as he felt someone nudging him in the shoulder. "Come on, Potter. You think I want to sit here for eternity waiting for you to wake up?" the voice demanded. The nudging at his shoulder became more forceful.

"Leave him alone, you know time doesn't matter in here," a female voice sounded in Harry's head.

"No, but it does out there," the male voice replied.

Harry struggled to make sense of what was going on around him. Not really aware that the man and woman were continuing to argue back and forth. Finally, he managed to open his eyes and look around.

He was in a bed, but the bed didn't seem to be in a room of any kind. There was just a brilliantly, bright light that had the same calming affect of the phoenix song and seemed like it went on forever. He looked over to his other side and saw the two people who were arguing over him.

"He'll wake when he's ready, Cedric," the female snapped at him.

"Come on, Bridge. He's had enough time to heal, he needs to wake up."

Harry wasn't sure how, but he knew he was not dreaming. "I'm awake," he said quietly. Bridgette and Cedric stopped arguing long enough to glance at him.

"See I told you he was ready," Cedric said.

Bridgette ignored him. "Hello, Harry," she said smiling down at him.

Harry sat up in the bed, hanging his legs over the edge of it. "Hi," he replied quietly.

"Well, I would have expected you to be happier than this to see me," she replied cheekily.

Despite the nervousness Harry felt, he chuckeled slightly. "I'm sorry, Bridgette," he said. "I'm happy to see you. I'm just not too happy at what it means."

Bridgette, unwilling to wait any longer, reached out and pulled him into a hug. "Don't be a prat, Harry. You're not dead."

"Afraid she's right, Mate," Cedric said, clapping Harry on the shoulder after Bridgette let him go. "I'm afraid you're going to have to put up with that crazy woman you married for a while longer."

Harry blinked. To say he was confused would be an understatement.

"Crazy woman?" Bridgette teased. "Just the other day you told me you thought she was gorgeous."

"Well she is. She's just crazy. I'd never know if I was coming or going, if I was with her. Really it's a good thing she's Harry's eternity. It's going to save a lot of blokes a lot of trouble when she comes over here."

"And what about me?

"You, you're gorgeous, but you're not crazy, much more to my liking.

"Yet you still don't know if you're coming or going with me either."

Cedric opened his mouth to retort, but then sighed. "Right," he said. He then turned to Harry. "Maybe we're the ones who're nutters. Seems the more crazy they make us, the more we like them." He gave Harry a nudge with his elbow and waggled his eyebrow so that both Harry and Bridgette could see.

If Harry was confused before, it said nothing about his condition now. "Erm…guys?"

"Yes, Harry," Bridgette and Cedric replied together.

"If I'm not dead, where am I?"

"You're here, Harry," Bridgette said.

"And where is that?" Harry asked, slightly exasperated.

Cedric and Bridgette both shrugged. "It's just here, Harry," Cedric said. "I can't explain it any better than that. "You're just here, Harry. That's all there is to it. If it helps, think of it as the in-between."

Harry tried to gather his thoughts before replying. "But I'm not dead?" he said slowly.

"No," Bridgette said.

"And you two are?"

"In the way you think of things, yes."

"So how are we here together?"

"Well," Cedric said, "You kind of need a kick in the arse to wake up back where you're supposed to be. We volunteered to come and give it to you. Luna would have come too, but she and her father went off on some trip after some crazy mythical creature of some sort. Not sure which one it is this time."

Harry started laughing. It would be just like Luna to be more interested in finding a crumple horned whatever, than for her to come and see him. He was glad to hear that death hadn't changed her. He fell silent again after a few seconds. Bridgette saw his mood change and moved to sit next to him, taking his hand in hers.

"Your parents wanted to come," she said softly. "But they had already been given more than their share of trips to the in-between. We both offered to give them one of our trips, but it wasn't allowed."

Harry looked down at Bridgette's hand in his. He smiled slightly as he remembered back to when they had been dating and what it had felt like to hold her hand. Again, it was nice, but it wasn't like holding Ginny's.

"You'll get to see them when it is your time to go through the veil, Harry," Cedric said as he sat down on Harry's other side. "But it's time for you to go back. We just wanted a chance to say hello."

Harry looked up at Bridgette. She was smiling at him and there was no trace of sadness in her face. "I haven't forgotten you, Bridgette," he whispered.

Bridgette pulled his forehead to her lips and kissed him. "I know, Harry," she replied. "Thank you."

Harry turned to look at Cedric. "I know we were never really friends, but I haven't forgotten you either."

"I know. Why do you think I used one of my trips to the in-between to come see you?"

Harry nodded. "So am I going to remember any of this?"

"All of it," Bridgette replied. There was a hissing sound from behind him and Harry turned to see that a door had appeared. It didn't exist in a wall of any sort, it was just there and he knew his time with them was short.

"Is there anything you want me to tell anyone?" Harry asked.

"There's really no one left for me back there," Bridgette said, nodding towards the doorway. "Just you, Ginny, Ron and Hermione, tell them I'm happy."

Harry nodded once at her. "And you?" he asked Cedric.

"There are a few more people left for me. But just tell them the same. That I'm happy too."

"What about Cho?"

"Tell her the same. That if were supposed to be together for eternity, then we'll get another chance when she comes through the veil," Cedric replied.

"You don't know?"

"No, Harry, I don't. If Cho and I had been married when I died, I might have known. But we weren't, so we both have to keep searching. She may find her eternity back there," Cedric said with a nod towards the doorway. "If she doesn't find it, and I don't find it before she crosses the veil, then I'll be waiting for her when she does, to see if she is my eternity."

While he had been speaking, Bridgette had moved around to his side and slipped her arm around Cedric's waist. Harry smiled at them.

"So you two are together then?" he asked.

"For now," Bridgette said, "Many things are the same over her as back there. We date, there are breakups and there are marriage ceremonies. Eternity is found and the next life is lived."

"Whether we're each others eternity," Cedric said.

"Remains to be seen," Bridgette answered.

"But for now, were happy," Cedric finished.

"What happens to people who don't have the eternity symbol at their wedding?" Harry asked.

"Well, Harry," Cedric said. "It's kind of odd to tell you the truth. In many cases, people don't marry their eternity, and they go their seperate ways at death."

"But sometimes you do marry your eternity," Bridgette picked up. "And you still don't get the eternity symbol at your wedding. Just because you find each other, doesn't mean you are ready for it. You have to be ready for the symbol, in order for it to happen."

"I'm not sure I understand," Harry replied.

"Look at it Ron's parents, Harry," Bridgette said. "They had a perfect circle at their wedding, but the truth is, they are each others eternity. When they married, their souls were not ready for eternity. The symbol knows that and therefore did not appear for them. They were not ready to be bound in that manner, so they weren't."

"What do you mean bound?"

Bridgette and Cedric both smiled. "Ginny never told you, did she?" Cedirc asked.

"Told me what?"

"Harry," Bridgette said, "Ginny was not over reacting when she said she could not live without you. Those were not just words. You and she are bound to each other now. Eternity will not let you or her be alone. If you or she dies, the other will die of a broken heart within days. The same is true for Ron and Hermione."

"So mate," Cedric said, "Not only do you have to put up with that, crazy woman, for the rest of your life, she is going to be around much longer than that."

Harry smiled again. "I don't really mind," he said. He then stood up and put his hand out to Cedric.

Cedric reached for his hand and used it to pull him into a one-armed embrace. "You destroyed him, Harry. Live happy and in peace," he said.

Harry pulled away and Bridgette pulled him to her again. They held each other tightly for a few moments before she let him go.

"I love you, Harry," she said.

"You too, Bridge," he replied. Harry looked over his shoulder at the doorway and then back to his two friends. "How do I get back?"

"Just open the door, Harry," Bridgette said as Cedric slipped his arm around her waist again.

"I guess I'll see you then," Harry said.

"Live, happy, Harry," They both replied.

Harry smiled and nodded once. He then he turned, moved to the door, opened it and walked through without looking back.

* * *

Harry slowly opened his eyes and took in his surroundings. Turning his head to the side, he could see that he was in the hospital wing and there were cards and flowers everywhere. Hearing voices, he turned the other way to see Ginny, Ron and Hermione were sitting at a table in the corner reading. He laid there watching them for a long time. As they were unaware that he had woken up.

_Should I say something?_he asked the voices.

_No, let's just watch them,_the first voice responded.

_Do you have any idea how long we've been here?_the third asked.

_No,_the second said.

Harry frowned to himself. Something in his mind didn't feel right. _Four, are you there?_he asked. Harry felt something stirring in his brain after a short time.

_What do you want?_the fourth voice asked, hostility evident in the response.

_Nothing, we were just wondering if you were ok?_the other voices responded.

_I'm hurt, now let me sleep and don't bother me,_the voice replied.

Harry felt part of his brain shut down again and then he understood what Ginny had done for so many years. He had never done this before, and wondered how long it would take the voice to heal, or if it ever would.

Ron looked up and noticed Harry was watching them, he nudged Ginny and pointed to the bed. Ginny looked at Ron, Harry couldn't see her lip starting to tremble. Ron nodded at her and she slowly turned to look at Harry.

Seeing him struggling to sit up, she flew from her chair to his arms, knocking him back down on the bed again. Her arms wrapped around him and she crushed him to her chest. Then, suddenly thinking she might cause him to fall back into a coma, she released him. Moving to her knees by his side her hands barely touching the sides of his face as tears streamed down her cheeks.

Harry lay there letting her trembling hands caress his face drinking in the sensation of her touch on his skin. Her fingers moved to his forehead and brushed his hair back. The tips of her fingers traced over his scar and Harry felt a slight tremor move through his body. She leaned down and gently kissed him there, sending a surge of electricity through him. Ginny had touched him there once before. And like then, the concept that he could feel anything but pain from his scar amazed him. Ginny pushed away from him just enough that they could see each other clearly.

_**"I've been waiting for you,"**_she said.

_**"I told you I would return to you,"**_Harry replied.

Ron and Hermione watched for a moment and without either Harry or Ginny noticing they slipped out of the hospital wing and went to get Dumbledore.

When they got back, Harry was sitting, propped up by pillows, Ginny was laying with her head in his lap as his hands played through her hair. She got up and moved to a chair when they came in.

"Hello, Harry," Dumbledore said as he summoned chairs to the bedside for he, Ron and Hermione.

"Sir," Harry replied.

"You have been asleep for a long time, Harry."

Harry simply nodded. "Ginny says she starts her seventh year in three weeks."

"Has she told you anything else?"

"No, sir."

"Voldemort is gone, Harry. I, the Minister and many other witnesses watched his body go through the veil after we removed you from the chamber."

"That was unnecessary," Harry said quietly. "His soul had already gone through."

Dumbledore surveyed him over his glasses, his eyes twinkling and a half smile playing at his mouth. "I know that, but for the general population it is a bit of closure. Especially with Death Eaters still on the loose spreading rumors that he is alive and well."

Harry scowled at this news.

"They are on the run, Harry. As a matter of fact, Draco Malfoy and Alastor Moody delivered Lucius Malfoy to the Ministry just two days ago. He was sent through the veil yesterday."

Harry's eyes went wide at this news. "Draco Malfoy, sir?

"He saved mine and Hermione's life during the battle at the castle, Harry," Ron said quietly.

Harry's mouth dropped open.

"We'll tell you about it another time, Harry," Hermione said smiling at him.

Harry looked at the two of them; they had been very quiet the whole time so far and seemed to be on the verge of exploding any second now. "I think, I need to rest for a while, but I could use a hug from both of you first," he said to them.

Hermione launched herself out of her chair into his arms, tears finally releasing from her eyes. "I missed you so much, Harry," she whispered to him, her body shaking against his. She finally relaxed her grip on him and kissed his cheek before letting Ron in so he could hug him too.

"Thank you, Harry," Ron said quietly before he let him go.

Harry smiled at him, and looked at Hermione again. He reached behind his neck and undid the clasp of Hermione's necklace.

"Come back here Mione," he said to her. Hermione actually blushed as she moved to his side and turned; holding her hair out of the way so Harry could place the necklace back around her neck. After he fixed the clasp she dropped her hair again and Harry reached around her waist to hug her again. "Perhaps, you should let Ron buy you a different one sometime," he said quietly.

"No mate," Ron answered as he pulled Hermione to him. "That necklace means as much to me as it does to Hermione. It reminds me that you kept your promise to me. And that you saved both Hermione and I from Voldemort."

"You would have done the same, Ron," Harry replied quietly. Ron smiled and nodded. Harry closed his eyes as a wave of exhaustion hit him.

"We'll see you tomorrow then, Harry," they both said heading for the door.

"Guy's," Harry said to them and Dumbledore as he got up to leave with Ron and Hermione.

"Yes, Harry?" Hermione asked.

"I know there has to be bad news."

Dumbledore frowned; Ron and Hermione looked down at the floor.

"Tomorrow, Husband," Ginny said as she climbed back onto the bed with him.

* * *

Hermione and Ron apparted directly into the catacombs deep beneath Windsor Castle.

"This way," she said turning down a corridor on her left.

They walked down the sloping rock floor for nearly five minutes. Passing endless volumes of old, dusty, leather bound tomes. Ron followed her as she turned right and left then right again. The floor sloped up for a while and then the came to a stair case leading them deeper under the castle.

"You hid the Tomes of the Damned in a library?" he finally asked unable to contain his incredulousness any longer.

"A library that wizards have not seen the need to enter for over five hundred years, Ronald," she snapped, angry that he thought her hiding spot wasn't very good. "And in case you didn't notice, not even non-magical people have been down here in probably more than a hundred years."

Ron put his hand on her shoulder and stopped her. Hermione stopped and looked at him angrily. "Only you would think to hide books in a library. You really are brilliant," he said.

Hermione melted and leaned in to give him a kiss. "Come on, it's just around that next bend. They reached then end of the corridor and she waved her wand in the air. The solid rock wall on her right shimmered and faded away. Revealing, two, thick, leather bound tomes and one scroll. Hermione examined the scroll and one of the tomes before handing them to Ron.

"This is the prophecy?" he asked indicating the scroll.

"Yes and the Tome of the Damned. Turns out there is only one book."

"What's that then?"

Hermione opened the cover to the second tome and revealed it to be a cleverly disguised wooden box. Inside of it, rested the wands of Morgana and Mordred. Ron tentatively reached out to touch them, but then changed his mind.

"Let's just go," he said quietly.

"Now that we've retrieved the tomes, and I canceled the protection spells, we can apparate from here. I'll see you at the Ministry," Hermione replied.

Ron nodded and with soft pops they were gone.

"Ronald, Hermione," Dumbledore said when they walked into the Department of Mysteries a short while later.

"Sir, Minster Bones," they both answered. Then nodded to the other people in the room

Minister Bones nodded at them. "Everything is in order?"

Ron and Hermione handed over the items and waited while Dumbledore and the Minister examined them. After a short time Dumbledore picked up the scroll with the prophecy on it. He unrolled it and the people in the room pressed in; eagerly trying to see what was written.

"What does it say, sir?" Hermione asked. Dumbledore glanced up at her and then at the rest of the people in the room before he began to read from the prophecy.

THE HEIR OF THE HOUSE OF THE SNAKE WILL RISE ANEW…THREE OF FOUR WILL FALL... IF THE EQUAL CAN DEFEAT THE HEIR TO THE HOUSE OF THE SNAKE A SECOND TIME, THE ENDING OF THE SOUL STEALERS ENSLAVEMENT IS AT HAND, FOR THEIR DESTRUCTORS HAVE RISEN... MARKED AS SERVANTS, THEIR MASTER RENOUNCED… HUSBAND TO MUDERED WIFE AND FATHER OF MURDERED UNBORN CHILD… SON TO MOTHER, MURDERED AT HIS FATHER'S HAND… MARK OF EVIL FADED AT THEIR FORMER MASTER'S FALL… SOUL STEALERS ENSLAVEMENT ENDS WHEN THE EVIL OF MOTHER AND SON IS DESTORYED BY DECENDANTS OF THEIR BLOOD…

Dumbledore finished reading the prophecy and gazed at the assembled group of people. "Severus," he said.

"Yes, Headmaster?"

"It seems that you and Draco Malfoy are the most likely candidates for filling these roles."

"It would seem so, yes."

"Then we shall wait for his arrival. Alastor, will you please go and tell him I require his presence here?"

"On my way," Mad-Eye replied heading for the door.

Ron and Hermione watched Snape sit down heavily in a chair along the wall of the room. His head rested in his hands and they both saw his shoulders heave once before they turned away.

"If you don't need us anymore, we're going to head back to the school, sir," Ron said to Professor Dumbledore.

"No, you may leave if you would like," he replied.

Ron took Hermione's hand in his and led her out of the room. "He never had a chance, did he?" Ron asked once the door closed behind them.

"Yes he did," Hermione replied. "Professor Snape is not the only one in his line. His mother and father both had siblings. He has cousins that are as much of Morgana and Mordred's blood as he is. He chose to become a Death Eater and they did not. His choices sealed his fate. I have sympathy for him, but I truly have sympathy for his wife and child. He deceived her, and that led her to her death and the death of her child."

"How do you know his family tree?" Ron asked.

"After Professor Dumbledore made us the Keepers and told us of Morgana and Mordred's wands, I traced their lines. I figured that it would have to be one of their descendants who would wield the wands. I didn't know that it would be Professor Snape and Draco, but I was not surprised at all to hear it was them."

Ron stopped and turned to her. "Even Ginny would never have come up with that. You really are the most brilliant witch of your age."

"Of my age?" Hermione asked glaring at him playfully.

"Ok, maybe in all of history," Ron mumbled.

"Sorry, I didn't hear that,"

"I said, Ok, maybe in all of history," Ron sighed, rolling his eyes.

"And don't you forget it, Ronald Weasley," she teased poking him in the chest to punctuate her words.

Ron took her hand in his and started down the hallway again. _As if she isn't difficult enough,_he thought to himself.

_**"I heard that,"**_Hermione thought to him.

_**"Oy get out of my head, that's cheating,"**_Ron replied.

_**"Are you sure you want me out?"**_Hermione asked pushing an image across their connection.

Ron swallowed hard before replying. "I'll race you home."

"That's what I thought," Hermione said breaking into a run towards the Ministry apparition point with Ron hot on her heals.

* * *

Harry sat, staring at the two pictures on the table in front of him. The first was of Bridgette Weasley. The other had been taken at his sixteenth birthday more than two years ago.

There were a number of people in the older photo who were among the dead now. Bridgette's mother and father had both died on the night of the attack on Slytherin castle, along with Bill and Arthur Weasley, Katie Bell, Hagrid, Professor McGonagall, and Victor Krum. Since then, Remus Lupin and Lee Jordan had been killed in a raid and Tonks had been severely injured in another. She had spent five weeks in St. Mungoe's. There had also been numerous other deaths and injuries to people Harry did not know very well or at all.

Harry wiped the tears from his eyes, and shook his head trying to clear it. He had done his part, and even though he sometimes wanted to be out there fighting, helping, he knew he was not healed enough to do it yet. His fourth voice still wouldn't wake up; though when he forced it to yesterday, it had been less hostile than that day in the hospital wing three weeks ago.

Harry looked up when the door to his and Ginny's flat opened and smiled. "How was class?" he asked.

Ginny scowled at him. "Wonderful, Snape gave us three rolls and it's the first week back. He's only marginally nicer too." Harry held his arms out and Ginny sat down in his lap, kissing him gently on the lips.

"And you, how is the makeup work coming?" she asked. Harry had missed the last three months of his seventh year, he had to make up the work and take his N.E.W.T.'s before he could graduate. Mark, the Unspeakable who had helped him train against the Cruciatus Curse, was tutoring him.

Harry had been truly surprised at how much he was still learning even though he had been given the knowledge of the Keepers way back in January. Hermione had been correct in her assertion that there was always something new or more to learn.

"It's going ok," Harry replied closing his eyes as he leaned his head back against the couch.

"You still get tired easily," Ginny said quietly.

"Mmmm."

"That's all I get from you after not seeing you all day, Potter?" Ginny snapped playfully at him. Harry smiled but didn't open his eyes.

"That's the girl I've been missing," he teased her.

"Is that a fact, Potter?" Ginny snarled at him. Harry's eyes opened and he laughed at her. "I can see it is time to stop babying you," she remarked.

"I want to go flying, Gin," he said.

"No, you may not," she answered glaring at him. Harry just smiled at her. She melted a few seconds later.

"If you're good, I'll take you out there this weekend." Harry scowled at her. "Don't give me that. That is a week earlier than Madam Pomfrey wants you to be on a broom. You will take it and be happy with it, Potter."

"Yes, Gin," Harry replied, knowing he had just gotten a major concession from a very protective wife. Harry had only been out of the hospital wing for two weeks now and Ginny had barely let him out of her sight the entire time. Mark had to practically throw her out of the flat on the first day of class two days ago.

"How are Ron and Hermione?" Harry asked. Ron had been offered the Assistant Flying coach position by Dumbledore and Hermione had taken the position of Transfiguration Professor that had been left empty with the death of Professor McGonagall. The two of them had had numerous other offers, but both had wanted to do something away from the spotlight for a while. Ron was, however, working out with the Chuddley Cannons two times a week.

It seemed a new offer came in every week for each of them. Few people knew the whole truth of what Ron, and Hermione had done in the defeat of Voldemort. But, when word got out that the Unspeakables had offered both of them and Harry positions, everyone had taken that as a clue that they would be worth the risk. Even the rumor that Ginny would be offered a spot by the Unspeakables, when she finished school, had brought a stack of letters from interested employers for her.

Harry was finding himself torn as he healed. He had more than one offer to tryout for different quidditch teams himself once he had recovered. And the idea of just doing something for fun sounded thrilling. The problem he was having was Dumbledore had asked him to teach the Defense Against the Dark Arts class once he had taken his N.E.W.T.s.

Dumbledore wanted him to teach years 1-3 starting in January and then next year, he and Cho would be partners teaching all of the years together. Dumbledore was tempting him because he wanted to keep training Harry, take him further than he was now.

Harry knew, despite having defeated Voldemort, that you never knew everything and Dumbledore was the best person to learn from. Harry wanted to do both, but Dumbledore was old and he wondered if he would still be around to learn from if he took a few years to play quidditch first.

He knew one thing, he would be teaching starting in January. There was no way he was leaving Ginny's side now that Dumbledore had made it possible for him to stay at Hogwarts with her. He wouldn't be ready to tryout for a quidditch team till next spring anyways. He had a long way to go to get back in shape for the game. Harry wasn't sure he would ever regain the form he once had.

"They're going to stop by later after you have napped and we have had dinner," Ginny replied.

"I miss having them in here with us, it feels empty," Harry answered.

"I do too, but it is a little difficult as they are both my Professors now too."

"I will be a professor in January too you know. Dumbledore may make me move out," Harry teased her.

"You will not be _my_professor and if he tries it, he will find himself with a green beard and purple hair," Ginny replied as she stood up and tossed a blanket at him. "It's nap time ickle, Harry." Harry started to grumble but she cut him off with her glare. Harry lay back on the couch and closed his eyes.

"Have a nice nap, Husband."

"Yes, Mum," he mocked her. Harry felt her continuing to glare at him while he laid there.

"You better not open those eyes, Potter," she remarked.

Harry just smiled again.

* * *

Harry led his blindfolded wife through the throngs of people, who paid them no mind whatsoever. He stopped at the beginning of the queue and looked at the monstrosity himself for the first time. His heart skipped a beat as he took it in. Seeing one like this; he had to wonder about the sanity of Muggles.

"What are you doing with me, Potter?" Ginny asked excitedly. She couldn't imagine what he had planned now. The week had been one huge surprise after another. She had no more than received her diploma from Professor Dumbledore, when Harry had come up to her, kissed her on the cheek, touched the diploma himself, tapped it with his wand and she had found herself spinning through space, the familiar tug of a portkey in her stomach. The first thing he had done upon landing was to wish her happy second anniversary.

It was the honeymoon and anniversary celebration that they had never gotten to do because it had been too dangerous for them to go on a honeymoon. And Harry had been in a coma for their first anniversary. Ron and Hermione had joined them two days ago, and they would be meeting up with them for dinner tonight. Harry had told her they were going to travel for the next two weeks around the world together, just having fun before they headed back to Hogwarts for Cho and Neville's wedding.

Harry stepped behind Ginny, positioning her so she could see the giant structure and pulled off the blindfold.

"It's the largest one in the world, Gin," he whispered in her ear. Ginny stared, not knowing what she was looking at.

"Do you remember, that day at my vault when you asked to borrow money from me? You asked me to take you someday," he said. Ginny's mind raced through the memory and then it came to her.

"Harry, is that…" she breathed.

"Yes, Gin. It is," Harry replied.


	20. Chapter 20: Epilogue

Please note the world of Harry Potter belongs to JKR. I'm only playing with her creation. Also the story image was a free download I found. Thank you to whomever it belongs. I will remove it immediately if asked.

* * *

Author's note:

As with, A Promise Kept and Harry Potter and the Blood Traitor, this is an older work that I am posting to help tide people over till my new works are ready. If I were to write this now, I would hit it with a pretty heavy editing hand. But I'm not writing it now and will be leaving it as is. Still, while it won't help this story, your comments will help my future work. So I will say it again, reviews are how you pay fanfic authors. I thereby challenge anyone who reads, like it or loath it to leave a review. I will do my best to respond to all signed reviews.

Also, I'm perfectly aware that with the title of the story and a quick google search you can find the whole thing. Certainly I can't stop you from doing so. Just know that I while I have not taken my works down from the old site, I no longer check anything there. If you want an answer to a question, you're going to have to contact me here.

Hope you like it.

Authors' note#2:

I suppose I should have expected this as my old work is going up. It was a very different life and more than five years since I said I was done with fan fiction. Now I'm back writing again. I'm on a new site with a new penname. A simple google search of the titles of my old work will direct you to mugglenet and the penname of huskers. So, I might as well say that yes, I use to post on mugglenet under the penname of huskers. Please read the bio there that directs you to find any new work as well as my old work here under the new penname of Sorcerer's Muse. Yes, I am one in the same. If you have any doubts that I am the same person and that all the work posted here is indeed mine, please go to mugglenet. Look up huskers' page and send an email with an appropriate code word of your choosing. I will then post that code word on my profile here to prove that I am the same person. **Note, I will not post anything vulgar or inappropriate.**

As always, thank you for reading my work.

Sorcerer's Muse

* * *

**Harry Potter and the Unlocked Mind**

**Chapter 20 Epilogue**

* * *

After the war, Harry, Ginny, Ron, Hermione and the rest of the Weasley children had returned with their mother to the site of their childhood home. The wreckage of the Burrow had been cleared. And now, on the site where the family home once stood there was a graveyard. It was home to seven markers with room for generations to come. Molly Weasley knelt in front of the stones of her husband and oldest son as she reminisced about the past and thought about the future.

_The new, well it wasn't exactly new anymore, house sat on top of the hill a short distance away. There were other houses now also. Some she could see from where she was and others were further down the path behind the hill._

Charlie and his wife, Nymphandora Tonks, lived with their four children down by the stream. They had named their house, The Preserve, in honor of the dragons that Charlie had worked with before the war.

Even though the battle that had occurred at Slytherin Castle was generally referred to as, The Final Battle, it had been far from it. Nymphandora had been severely injured during a raid on a Death Eater hideout shortly after the battle at Slytherin Castle. During her stay in the hospital she had decided she was done fighting. Soon after she was released from St. Mungoe's, she had become pregnant with her and Charlie's first child and Molly's first grand child, Jamison Amber Weasley.

After the war, had truly come to an end, Charlie had gone back to his dragons. And after a year, he managed to get himself moved from the reserves in Romania to the one in north Wales. It wasn't nearly as large, or prestigious of a reserve. But instead of only being home on weekends, it allowed him to be home every night with his wife and newborn child.

Jamison, or Jamie as everyone called her, was seventeen now. She would be starting her last year at Hogwarts in a few weeks. Upon her arrival at Hogwarts at the age of eleven, she had broken the Weasley tradition of being sorted into Gryffindor. Instead she had been placed in Ravenclaw. It had been quite a shock to everyone. But Jamie had proved the hat correct in its choice. She was brilliant, and had spent her time at school determined to improve upon the scores that her aunt Hermione had received. It had developed into quite the competition between the two. And though Hermione was jealous of her place atop the school records, she was always the first to congratulate her niece when one of her exam scores exceeded her own.

Jamison had been followed by Cole Jarred; a Gryffindor through and through. Only thirteen, and just off of his first year on the Gryffindor Quidditch Team, he was the fearless leader of the youngest group of Chasers to make the team in more than two centuries; all of them would be starting their third year this fall and promised to give the team a formidable group for years to come.

Charlie and Nymphandora's next was ten-year-old Maggie Christine, a shy, quite girl, with a sharp wit, who had a year to go before starting at Hogwarts. Her younger brother, eight-year-old Geoffrey David, was a combination of his older siblings. He possessed the best of all his older brothers and sisters, but not quite in the quantities they did.

Percy and Penelope lived in a house just off of the family property near the village of Otter St. Catchpole. They had named the house, Redemption Road, it served as a reminder, that it was never to late to say you were sorry.

Percy had left the Ministry after the war. It had reminded him too much of what his blind ambition had nearly cost him. Eventually, he had become Fred and George's Business Manager. The twins had proved to be great at creating and selling jokes, but keeping books and figuring out how to best target their market, had not been their strong point. While Percy ran the whole of the WWW Empire from the back room of the flagship store in Diagon Alley, Penelope managed the front of the store. Along with allowing them to work together, it made it easy for Penelope to drag Percy home when it was time to call it quits for the day.

While Percy may have left the Ministry and some of his ambitions behind, he was still Percy. And everything in his life was planned out well in advance. Having children had not occurred until he had felt financially stable enough to support them. But when he and Penelope did, they had not wasted any time. There were five children now; starting with six year old Fiona Elizabeth, going to five- year-old Greta Kallan, four-year-old Gwendolyn Ann, three-year-old Percival Ignatius Jr, and last, one-year-old Henry Charles.

Penelope had left her position at WWW shortly after the birth of Gwendolyn and now, along with Molly, provided daycare services to her own children along with many of her nieces and nephews.

Fred and George had married their longtime girls Angelina and Alicia respectively. The four of them continued to work with Percy to grow the small empire that was WWW.

To say the lives of both couples were similar would be an understatement. Fred and Angelina had eleven-year-old identical triplet girls; Sarah Natasha, Shannon Nalia, and Sylvia Neve.

George and Alicia were also the parents of eleven-year-old identical triplet girls; Calista Gillian, Claudia Gabriella and Celeste Gefen. Amazingly all six shared the same birthday.

Technically, Sarah was the oldest, but she was followed by her cousin Calista. The line continued in that manner. Shannon was third, Claudia fourth, Sylvia fifth, and last was Celeste.

The six girls were inseparable. They were all sorted into Gryffindor upon arrival at Hogwarts and only at their parents instance had they not all been placed in the same dormitory. Beyond that, in what had to be one of the greatest examples ever, of poetic justice, they all delighted in being pranksters.

To the great pleasure of their aunts, uncles, and Molly herself, the girls' favorite targets were Fred and George, followed closely by their uncle Harry. Just last week, the twins and Harry had found themselves swimming in the pond when their swimsuits had suddenly changed from baggy shorts to very skimpy bikinis.

Unfortunately for the girls, their fathers and Harry had decide to get back at them by using the pictures of the three of them in bikinis as part of the advertising for the, Gender Bender Trunks, that were now selling at WWW. The girls had thought it quite the funny joke until one of their school friends sent them one of the flyers with the ad, asking if that was indeed their father and Harry Potter prancing around in women's swimsuits. Also, the Daily Prophet had made quite the article out of the news that, The Great Harry Potter, was a transvestite and would soon be divorcing his wife to live with his two transvestite brothers-in-law. The article had only heightened Fred, George, and Harry's glee at the girls' embarrassment. A new prank war was brewing between them, their fathers and Harry, and it remained to be seen who would give in first.

Ron and Hermione had moved back too. It was actually their house that Molly lived in now. It was called, The Den. A play off of their animagus forms and a subtle reminder that a house called, The Burrow, once stood on these grounds.

After the fall of Voldemort, both of them had continued to teach at Hogwarts. After only two years of teaching at the school, Dumbledore had quickly moved Hermione into the roll of head of house for Gryffindor. Five years latter, when Severus Snape had been murdered by an escaped Death Eater, he had made her his assistant Headmistress.

Now, at the tender age thirty six, with Dumbledore having passed away early in the summer, she was poised to become the youngest Headmistress in the history of the school. Along the way, she had helped pass legislation granting more rights and freedoms to Werewolves, Centaurs and House elves. She still diligently promoted S.P.E.W. but had come to realize she couldn't force it on the elves and that it would take generations for them to accept that they did not have to be slaves.

Ron had continued to serve as a flying instructor at the school. While doing that, he had spent a few years serving as the reserve Keeper for the Chuddley Cannons. He had even moved into the starter roll for a year, before he was injured.

After spending a month in the hospital, he had decided that was more than enough time there, and retired. Now, with Hermione moving into the Headmistress position, he was going to become head of house for Gryffindor.

Perhaps of all her children, Ron and Hermione had suffered the most for their roles in the war. Ron's role as the one to plan Harry's victory had forced him to send his sister and wife into grave danger to save Harry. That he had been in just as much danger himself just didn't seem to matter to him.

Dumbledore had never thought to have the battle between Harry and Voldemort occur in the prison he had developed. He had only intended to use the prison if Harry had failed to destroy the Dark Lord.

It was Ron, who had locked his best mate in that prison with no real hope of ever leaving it again. The prison would only hold Voldemort if he was too weak to escape it. If Voldemort had defeated Harry, he would never be weaker than at that point. Ron had decided to have them fight in there for that reason; sacrificing one, for the sake of many. That Harry had agreed and thought the idea was brilliant didn't change the fact, that in Ron's eyes he had given Harry up for dead.

On top of all that, Ron had devised the battle plan and attack on Slytherin castle. He had decided which tasks would be assigned to whom. And he held himself responsible for the deaths to the good side, including those of his father and oldest brother. There were days where he was still prone to bouts of self-loathing because of it. In fact, Ron had not played a single game of chess since finishing his battle plan.

Then there was Hermione. The injuries that she had sustained in the Ministry at the end of her fifth year had left her womb damaged. She and Ron tried for years to have children, suffering four different miscarriages. The last had nearly broken them both. The graves of their unborn children were set off to the back of the graveyard near that of Remus Lupin. Finally, when they had given up hope, they had been blessed with a perfect baby boy.

Arthur William had come into the world kicking and screaming on August 11th two years ago. He shared his birthday with Ginny, and not since she had been born, the first girl in the Weasley line in more than three centuries, had the Weasley family celebrated like that. Not when Voldemort had fallen, not when they had pulled Harry and Ginny alive from the Death Chamber and not even when Harry had finally woken from the coma the battle with Voldemort had left him in, had there been such joy shared by all members of the family. In truth, Molly doubted if either Ron or Hermione could have survived another miscarriage. But now, the boy was the light of their lives. And for anything Molly could recall neither had been as happy as they were now.

Last of Molly's children were Harry and Ginny. They lived on the property also. Molly liked it that way. All of her family close, her grandchildren only an arms length away. Phoenix's Perch, sat on the hill a short walk from, The Den. Not since Harry and Ginny had built the house, would they go more than three days without seeing Ron and Hermione. Molly had often looked at the pictures the DA had given both couples as wedding gifts. And she had read the speech that Cho, Luna, Neville and Bridgette had delivered many times. Sometimes, she herself wondered if the four of them were one soul split into four different bodies.

Though Harry and Ginny were here now, it had taken a few years for them to settle down. Harry had taken Dumbledore up on the offer to teach while Ginny finished school, but after that the two of them had been as near to Gypsies as you could be. They had traveled the world, never staying in one place more than a few weeks at a time.

Much to Molly's dismay, they had tried every crazy stunt it seemed possible to do. They had jumped out of one of those flying Muggle contraptions with backpacks that opened up to slow your fall down. Parkachuting, or something like that, it was called.

Something called scruberdiving, where they went under water with masks and tanks full of air. That had not really worried her too much. It wasn't much different than using a Bubblehead Charm or Gillyweed, Molly had thought. But that, in itself, wasn't enough for the Harry and Ginny. They had gone in something called a shark cage. And they had feed the great beasts. There was a picture of one of the sharks that had "visited" with them on the wall in their house. It was called a Great White, Harry said. The thing was nearly eighteen feet long and nothing but teeth. Quite honestly, Molly thought it was capable of taking a chunk or two out of Harry in his animagus form, regardless of how tough a dragon's hide was. Those were just the two most extreme examples of her two youngest children's foolishness.

After spending a year roaming the world, Harry and Ginny had settled in a flat in downtown London for a year. They had decided at that point, to play professional quidditch, and in less than three months had been moved to the English National Team. Unfortunately for their professional careers, after only nine months on the team, Ginny became pregnant.

It had taken only one, three-week trip, during which there was an escaped Death Eater attack on his pregnant wife for Harry to hang up his broom.

The attack was one of many that had occurred on the two of them since the fall of Voldemort. It seemed that no matter how long the Dark Lord had been gone, that there was always some nut, that was convinced if they killed Harry or Ginny, or both of them, their master would return again. After the first few attacks against them, the Ministry had authorized Harry and Ginny to defend themselves in any way they saw fit. Up to the last attack, five years ago, they had shown restraint and mercy. But that attack had been against their children. Mercy had been the furthest thing from either of their minds.

Molly had taken Harry and Ginny's twin girls Audrey Nicole and Stacy Christina to the park in Hogsmead for the day. The girls, now eight, had been three at the time. The attack should have killed all of them. And it would have, except for the two-way-mirror, Molly had used to call for help the second the first spell had been sent. Harry and Ginny had come to the rescue.

Harry had arrived seconds before Ginny. He had instantly placed Molly and the girls in a binding spell. With a simple flick of his wrist, two of the Death Eaters had been disarmed, bound and summoned to his side. He had then set a shield of some sort around himself, the girls, Molly and the two Death Eaters.

The spells of more than forty Death Eaters had flown at the six of them. They had simply been absorbed by whatever Harry's shield spell had been. And the ring of twenty plus phoenixes that Harry had arrayed around them had swallowed the Death Curse whenever one of the Death Eaters had tried to use it.

Ginny had arrived at that point, and taken one look at Harry. He had had nodded grimly at her. He had then cast some sort of magical dome, nearly two hundred feet in diameter. The rest of the attacking Death Eaters had been trapped in it; unable to portkey, apparate, or even walk through it, in an attempt to escape.

Convinced of the safety of her children, mother and husband, Ginny's eyes had gone cold. She had turned from her family and proceeded to mercilessly savage the rest of the attackers. Those that had been hit by her crushing spells had been reduced to piles of mush, their bones utterly disintegrated. Her stunning spells had ripped through shields and killed as surely as the death curse.

The whole battle had lasted less than three minutes. Ginny had already taken the girls home by the time the first Aurors had arrived. Harry and Molly had stayed behind to explain what had happened, and how forty-three, dead, Death Eaters came to be strewn about the park.

The two Death Eaters that had been spared lived only long enough to tell the tale at their trial. They were both escapees from Azkaban, convicted of murder. That, along with the new conviction for the attempted murder of Molly, Audrey and Christina was enough for the Ministry to send them through the veil.

Molly had been astonished at Harry and Ginny's actions on the day of the attack. That her daughter and son-in-law had killed forty-three Death Eaters had not bothered her. They had asked for and gotten what they deserved, in her opinion. But the ease with which the two of them had done it; left her in a state of near disbelief. Neither of them had been even the slightest bit tired from the effort. Apparently, it had stunned any Death Eaters that were still alive and at large too. There had not been an attack on any of the Potters or Weasleys since that day five years ago.

It was after the birth of their oldest child, fourteen-year-old Lily Ginevra, that Harry and Ginny had finally settled down and built Phoenix's Perch. Harry had asked for, and been granted a position alongside of Cho Longbottom, teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts at the school. Ginny, had helped Neville Longbottom to stretch the boundaries of herbology. The two of them ran the largest greenhouse and research facility in the world. If the plant existed, there was an example of it in one of their buildings somewhere.

Along with Lily Ginevra, Harry and Ginny had six other children. There was twelve-year-old Molly Hermione, followed by the twins, Audrey and Stacy. The twins were followed by four-year-old Courtney Renee, two-year-old Bridgette Avril and last, the only boy in the Potter line, three-month-old Eric Ronald.

Molly reached for her husband's stone. "Do you see them Arthur?" she asked softly. At that moment an eagle's tail feather floated down from the sky and settled on the ground softly next to her. Molly reached for the feather, picking it up. She turned her eyes to the heavens and searched the sky for the bird that had dropped the feather. The sky was brilliantly clear and empty.

She felt a breeze tickle at her neck, like her husband's kisses had done so many years ago. A small smile came across her face and her eyes closed as she drank in the memory. A short time later, when the shouts of her grandchildren reached her ears, she stood and headed in the direction of the lake and the birthday party that was just starting.

"Soon, Arthur, it's not my time yet, but soon I will come to you," she whispered to the wind as she disappeared around the bend.

**End**

* * *

Author's note:

I would also like to thank those who have reviewed for me. It was great to get your feedback, even if you didn't like something. Without calling out names, I don't want to offend someone by missing them, I would especially like to thank those reviewers who have been with me from the start. You know who you are, and thank you.

I will begin posting my next story in a few days. It was written pre HBP, and takes none of that new cannon into account. It also is not based off of anything in, Blood Traitor, or, Unlocked Mind. The story begins 9 years after the fall of Voldemort. It is an angst filled H/G story titled, **Broken**. You can expect the first chapter in a week or so.

After the war, Harry, Ginny, Ron, Hermione and the rest of the Weasley children had returned with their mother to the site of their childhood home. The wreckage of the Burrow had been cleared. And now, on the site where the family home once stood there was a graveyard. It was home to seven markers with room for generations to come. Molly Weasley knelt in front of the stones of her husband and oldest son as she reminisced about the past and thought about the future.

_The new, well it wasn't exactly new anymore, house sat on top of the hill a short distance away. There were other houses now also. Some she could see from where she was and others were further down the path behind the hill._

Charlie and his wife, Nymphandora Tonks, lived with their four children down by the stream. They had named their house, The Preserve, in honor of the dragons that Charlie had worked with before the war.

Even though the battle that had occurred at Slytherin Castle was generally referred to as, The Final Battle, it had been far from it. Nymphandora had been severely injured during a raid on a Death Eater hideout shortly after the battle at Slytherin Castle. During her stay in the hospital she had decided she was done fighting. Soon after she was released from St. Mungoe's, she had become pregnant with her and Charlie's first child and Molly's first grand child, Jamison Amber Weasley.

After the war, had truly come to an end, Charlie had gone back to his dragons. And after a year, he managed to get himself moved from the reserves in Romania to the one in north Wales. It wasn't nearly as large, or prestigious of a reserve. But instead of only being home on weekends, it allowed him to be home every night with his wife and newborn child.

Jamison, or Jamie as everyone called her, was seventeen now. She would be starting her last year at Hogwarts in a few weeks. Upon her arrival at Hogwarts at the age of eleven, she had broken the Weasley tradition of being sorted into Gryffindor. Instead she had been placed in Ravenclaw. It had been quite a shock to everyone. But Jamie had proved the hat correct in its choice. She was brilliant, and had spent her time at school determined to improve upon the scores that her aunt Hermione had received. It had developed into quite the competition between the two. And though Hermione was jealous of her place atop the school records, she was always the first to congratulate her niece when one of her exam scores exceeded her own.

Jamison had been followed by Cole Jarred; a Gryffindor through and through. Only thirteen, and just off of his first year on the Gryffindor Quidditch Team, he was the fearless leader of the youngest group of Chasers to make the team in more than two centuries; all of them would be starting their third year this fall and promised to give the team a formidable group for years to come.

Charlie and Nymphandora's next was ten-year-old Maggie Christine, a shy, quite girl, with a sharp wit, who had a year to go before starting at Hogwarts. Her younger brother, eight-year-old Geoffrey David, was a combination of his older siblings. He possessed the best of all his older brothers and sisters, but not quite in the quantities they did.

Percy and Penelope lived in a house just off of the family property near the village of Otter St. Catchpole. They had named the house, Redemption Road, it served as a reminder, that it was never to late to say you were sorry.

Percy had left the Ministry after the war. It had reminded him too much of what his blind ambition had nearly cost him. Eventually, he had become Fred and George's Business Manager. The twins had proved to be great at creating and selling jokes, but keeping books and figuring out how to best target their market, had not been their strong point. While Percy ran the whole of the WWW Empire from the back room of the flagship store in Diagon Alley, Penelope managed the front of the store. Along with allowing them to work together, it made it easy for Penelope to drag Percy home when it was time to call it quits for the day.

While Percy may have left the Ministry and some of his ambitions behind, he was still Percy. And everything in his life was planned out well in advance. Having children had not occurred until he had felt financially stable enough to support them. But when he and Penelope did, they had not wasted any time. There were five children now; starting with six year old Fiona Elizabeth, going to five- year-old Greta Kallan, four-year-old Gwendolyn Ann, three-year-old Percival Ignatius Jr, and last, one-year-old Henry Charles.

Penelope had left her position at WWW shortly after the birth of Gwendolyn and now, along with Molly, provided daycare services to her own children along with many of her nieces and nephews.

Fred and George had married their longtime girls Angelina and Alicia respectively. The four of them continued to work with Percy to grow the small empire that was WWW.

To say the lives of both couples were similar would be an understatement. Fred and Angelina had eleven-year-old identical triplet girls; Sarah Natasha, Shannon Nalia, and Sylvia Neve.

George and Alicia were also the parents of eleven-year-old identical triplet girls; Calista Gillian, Claudia Gabriella and Celeste Gefen. Amazingly all six shared the same birthday.

Technically, Sarah was the oldest, but she was followed by her cousin Calista. The line continued in that manner. Shannon was third, Claudia fourth, Sylvia fifth, and last was Celeste.

The six girls were inseparable. They were all sorted into Gryffindor upon arrival at Hogwarts and only at their parents instance had they not all been placed in the same dormitory. Beyond that, in what had to be one of the greatest examples ever, of poetic justice, they all delighted in being pranksters.

To the great pleasure of their aunts, uncles, and Molly herself, the girls' favorite targets were Fred and George, followed closely by their uncle Harry. Just last week, the twins and Harry had found themselves swimming in the pond when their swimsuits had suddenly changed from baggy shorts to very skimpy bikinis.

Unfortunately for the girls, their fathers and Harry had decide to get back at them by using the pictures of the three of them in bikinis as part of the advertising for the, Gender Bender Trunks, that were now selling at WWW. The girls had thought it quite the funny joke until one of their school friends sent them one of the flyers with the ad, asking if that was indeed their father and Harry Potter prancing around in women's swimsuits. Also, the Daily Prophet had made quite the article out of the news that, The Great Harry Potter, was a transvestite and would soon be divorcing his wife to live with his two transvestite brothers-in-law. The article had only heightened Fred, George, and Harry's glee at the girls' embarrassment. A new prank war was brewing between them, their fathers and Harry, and it remained to be seen who would give in first.

Ron and Hermione had moved back too. It was actually their house that Molly lived in now. It was called, The Den. A play off of their animagus forms and a subtle reminder that a house called, The Burrow, once stood on these grounds.

After the fall of Voldemort, both of them had continued to teach at Hogwarts. After only two years of teaching at the school, Dumbledore had quickly moved Hermione into the roll of head of house for Gryffindor. Five years latter, when Severus Snape had been murdered by an escaped Death Eater, he had made her his assistant Headmistress.

Now, at the tender age thirty six, with Dumbledore having passed away early in the summer, she was poised to become the youngest Headmistress in the history of the school. Along the way, she had helped pass legislation granting more rights and freedoms to Werewolves, Centaurs and House elves. She still diligently promoted S.P.E.W. but had come to realize she couldn't force it on the elves and that it would take generations for them to accept that they did not have to be slaves.

Ron had continued to serve as a flying instructor at the school. While doing that, he had spent a few years serving as the reserve Keeper for the Chuddley Cannons. He had even moved into the starter roll for a year, before he was injured.

After spending a month in the hospital, he had decided that was more than enough time there, and retired. Now, with Hermione moving into the Headmistress position, he was going to become head of house for Gryffindor.

Perhaps of all her children, Ron and Hermione had suffered the most for their roles in the war. Ron's role as the one to plan Harry's victory had forced him to send his sister and wife into grave danger to save Harry. That he had been in just as much danger himself just didn't seem to matter to him.

Dumbledore had never thought to have the battle between Harry and Voldemort occur in the prison he had developed. He had only intended to use the prison if Harry had failed to destroy the Dark Lord.

It was Ron, who had locked his best mate in that prison with no real hope of ever leaving it again. The prison would only hold Voldemort if he was too weak to escape it. If Voldemort had defeated Harry, he would never be weaker than at that point. Ron had decided to have them fight in there for that reason; sacrificing one, for the sake of many. That Harry had agreed and thought the idea was brilliant didn't change the fact, that in Ron's eyes he had given Harry up for dead.

On top of all that, Ron had devised the battle plan and attack on Slytherin castle. He had decided which tasks would be assigned to whom. And he held himself responsible for the deaths to the good side, including those of his father and oldest brother. There were days where he was still prone to bouts of self-loathing because of it. In fact, Ron had not played a single game of chess since finishing his battle plan.

Then there was Hermione. The injuries that she had sustained in the Ministry at the end of her fifth year had left her womb damaged. She and Ron tried for years to have children, suffering four different miscarriages. The last had nearly broken them both. The graves of their unborn children were set off to the back of the graveyard near that of Remus Lupin. Finally, when they had given up hope, they had been blessed with a perfect baby boy.

Arthur William had come into the world kicking and screaming on August 11th two years ago. He shared his birthday with Ginny, and not since she had been born, the first girl in the Weasley line in more than three centuries, had the Weasley family celebrated like that. Not when Voldemort had fallen, not when they had pulled Harry and Ginny alive from the Death Chamber and not even when Harry had finally woken from the coma the battle with Voldemort had left him in, had there been such joy shared by all members of the family. In truth, Molly doubted if either Ron or Hermione could have survived another miscarriage. But now, the boy was the light of their lives. And for anything Molly could recall neither had been as happy as they were now.

Last of Molly's children were Harry and Ginny. They lived on the property also. Molly liked it that way. All of her family close, her grandchildren only an arms length away. Phoenix's Perch, sat on the hill a short walk from, The Den. Not since Harry and Ginny had built the house, would they go more than three days without seeing Ron and Hermione. Molly had often looked at the pictures the DA had given both couples as wedding gifts. And she had read the speech that Cho, Luna, Neville and Bridgette had delivered many times. Sometimes, she herself wondered if the four of them were one soul split into four different bodies.

Though Harry and Ginny were here now, it had taken a few years for them to settle down. Harry had taken Dumbledore up on the offer to teach while Ginny finished school, but after that the two of them had been as near to Gypsies as you could be. They had traveled the world, never staying in one place more than a few weeks at a time.

Much to Molly's dismay, they had tried every crazy stunt it seemed possible to do. They had jumped out of one of those flying Muggle contraptions with backpacks that opened up to slow your fall down. Parkachuting, or something like that, it was called.

Something called scruberdiving, where they went under water with masks and tanks full of air. That had not really worried her too much. It wasn't much different than using a Bubblehead Charm or Gillyweed, Molly had thought. But that, in itself, wasn't enough for the Harry and Ginny. They had gone in something called a shark cage. And they had feed the great beasts. There was a picture of one of the sharks that had "visited" with them on the wall in their house. It was called a Great White, Harry said. The thing was nearly eighteen feet long and nothing but teeth. Quite honestly, Molly thought it was capable of taking a chunk or two out of Harry in his animagus form, regardless of how tough a dragon's hide was. Those were just the two most extreme examples of her two youngest children's foolishness.

After spending a year roaming the world, Harry and Ginny had settled in a flat in downtown London for a year. They had decided at that point, to play professional quidditch, and in less than three months had been moved to the English National Team. Unfortunately for their professional careers, after only nine months on the team, Ginny became pregnant.

It had taken only one, three-week trip, during which there was an escaped Death Eater attack on his pregnant wife for Harry to hang up his broom.

The attack was one of many that had occurred on the two of them since the fall of Voldemort. It seemed that no matter how long the Dark Lord had been gone, that there was always some nut, that was convinced if they killed Harry or Ginny, or both of them, their master would return again. After the first few attacks against them, the Ministry had authorized Harry and Ginny to defend themselves in any way they saw fit. Up to the last attack, five years ago, they had shown restraint and mercy. But that attack had been against their children. Mercy had been the furthest thing from either of their minds.

Molly had taken Harry and Ginny's twin girls Audrey Nicole and Stacy Christina to the park in Hogsmead for the day. The girls, now eight, had been three at the time. The attack should have killed all of them. And it would have, except for the two-way-mirror, Molly had used to call for help the second the first spell had been sent. Harry and Ginny had come to the rescue.

Harry had arrived seconds before Ginny. He had instantly placed Molly and the girls in a binding spell. With a simple flick of his wrist, two of the Death Eaters had been disarmed, bound and summoned to his side. He had then set a shield of some sort around himself, the girls, Molly and the two Death Eaters.

The spells of more than forty Death Eaters had flown at the six of them. They had simply been absorbed by whatever Harry's shield spell had been. And the ring of twenty plus phoenixes that Harry had arrayed around them had swallowed the Death Curse whenever one of the Death Eaters had tried to use it.

Ginny had arrived at that point, and taken one look at Harry. He had had nodded grimly at her. He had then cast some sort of magical dome, nearly two hundred feet in diameter. The rest of the attacking Death Eaters had been trapped in it; unable to portkey, apparate, or even walk through it, in an attempt to escape.

Convinced of the safety of her children, mother and husband, Ginny's eyes had gone cold. She had turned from her family and proceeded to mercilessly savage the rest of the attackers. Those that had been hit by her crushing spells had been reduced to piles of mush, their bones utterly disintegrated. Her stunning spells had ripped through shields and killed as surely as the death curse.

The whole battle had lasted less than three minutes. Ginny had already taken the girls home by the time the first Aurors had arrived. Harry and Molly had stayed behind to explain what had happened, and how forty-three, dead, Death Eaters came to be strewn about the park.

The two Death Eaters that had been spared lived only long enough to tell the tale at their trial. They were both escapees from Azkaban, convicted of murder. That, along with the new conviction for the attempted murder of Molly, Audrey and Christina was enough for the Ministry to send them through the veil.

Molly had been astonished at Harry and Ginny's actions on the day of the attack. That her daughter and son-in-law had killed forty-three Death Eaters had not bothered her. They had asked for and gotten what they deserved, in her opinion. But the ease with which the two of them had done it; left her in a state of near disbelief. Neither of them had been even the slightest bit tired from the effort. Apparently, it had stunned any Death Eaters that were still alive and at large too. There had not been an attack on any of the Potters or Weasleys since that day five years ago.

It was after the birth of their oldest child, fourteen-year-old Lily Ginevra, that Harry and Ginny had finally settled down and built Phoenix's Perch. Harry had asked for, and been granted a position alongside of Cho Longbottom, teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts at the school. Ginny, had helped Neville Longbottom to stretch the boundaries of herbology. The two of them ran the largest greenhouse and research facility in the world. If the plant existed, there was an example of it in one of their buildings somewhere.

Along with Lily Ginevra, Harry and Ginny had six other children. There was twelve-year-old Molly Hermione, followed by the twins, Audrey and Stacy. The twins were followed by four-year-old Courtney Renee, two-year-old Bridgette Avril and last, the only boy in the Potter line, three-month-old Eric Ronald.

Molly reached for her husband's stone. "Do you see them Arthur?" she asked softly. At that moment an eagle's tail feather floated down from the sky and settled on the ground softly next to her. Molly reached for the feather, picking it up. She turned her eyes to the heavens and searched the sky for the bird that had dropped the feather. The sky was brilliantly clear and empty.

She felt a breeze tickle at her neck, like her husband's kisses had done so many years ago. A small smile came across her face and her eyes closed as she drank in the memory. A short time later, when the shouts of her grandchildren reached her ears, she stood and headed in the direction of the lake and the birthday party that was just starting.

"Soon, Arthur, it's not my time yet, but soon I will come to you," she whispered to the wind as she disappeared around the bend.

**End**

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Author's note:

Next up will be a one-shot. I've two more older works to post then I will begin posting new work again.

Thanks to all who are reading and for all your comments. I appreciate all of you very much.

Sorcerer's Muse


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